The Pact
by heatherberry
Summary: Booth and Bones make a 'Pact' to stay apart...but will it bring them closer together? Romance/Angst/Humour.
1. Observed

**A/N: Inspired by a conversation with the ever so wonderful bea.tricks...this has been stuck trying to get out for a while. Here you have an intro, next chapter I'll have to explain why there is a premise for this fic you'll all just have to accept for now and fight with me about it later...yes, that's right - later! Just go with the flow...**

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

**--**

"They're going to break."

"They're not going to break."

"They're going to break. Have you seen him? Have you seen her?"

"Honey..."

"They kissed Jack. They pulled their finger out of the dam and let the water flow hot and rapid for a whole 30 seconds and now they're trying desperately to shove their fingers back in the hole. But it won't work, the pressure it too great. The current is pushing their little fingers all over the place. They might be able to plug it for a bit, but the cement round the hole is never going to be strong as before they took their fingers out of the dam. They've created a torrent of foamy, wet..."

"Ok Angela, enough with the damn dam metaphor, I think you've flooded it."

"I know they seem cool, calm, collected, rational and focused, like unruffled swans swimming calmly across the surface of the pond known as repressed desire. But believe me, underneath they are both paddling like demented ducks, trying madly to stay afloat."

"They look pretty buoyant to me."

"Look again lover. See Booth, see him there, leaning over her as she uses the electron microscope? His arm casually on the back of her chair, actually showing interest in the procedure."

"Yeah."

"How often does he hover like that when you're using the EM?"

"Never, but he always stands that close to Dr. Brennan when..."

"No, you're wrong. He doesn't. He usually is stood over that side, lolling against the rail watching her from a distance, nonchalant, waiting to be given a piece of information he can get excited about before grabbing her and running out of the lab without so much as a by your leave."

"Hmmm."

"Damn right hmmm. And look at her. Notice anything different."

"You're asking me? I only have eyes for you sweetheart."

"Yes, yes Jack. You got me already. No, look again."

"Err, lab coat, boots, necklace, shirt, no I'm not seeing it."

"Her hair is down."

"Her hair is down?"

"While using equipment she regards as sacred."

"Her hair is down."

"Correct."

"And that means...?"

"Femininity, darling. Allure...attraction."

"And that means...?"

"Yeah, like you don't know."

"Ok, so she is deviating from her usual course of action. Doesn't mean they're going to...Look. She told you, she explained in great, Dr. Brennan-like detail how important their little pact is to both of them. You're talking about the King and Queen of long term repression here. So ok, he is standing closer than usual and she hasn't tied her hair back. That doesn't mean they're about to force us to find another janitor's closet any time soon."

"A week. I give it no more, no less. They're down three already. When she told me about the pact, I gave it a month. "

"Care to make a wager on that?"

"Don't let Booth hear you saying that."

"Oh I already have him tied into a bet on this one..."

"You do not!"

"No, but I was this close!"

"Tell. Me. Everything."

**--**

**TBC - what bet? what kiss? what pact?...answers to be revealed and you know what encourages me...well Reviews are like ambrosia from heaven...and they make me write faster too - I work better under pressure...pressure me! **


	2. Stifled

**A/N: There is a premise here I am hoping my readers will accept. I don't think a pact would happen on the show, but hey, that is what fanfic is for...exploring those avenues that could happen...no deus ex machina for this girl though. Special thanks to bea.tricks for her input, beta and guidance. Also TemperTemper for ongoing encouragement! **

**Disclaimer: nothing has changed since the last time I checked...still not mine.**

They think we don't know, haven't figured it out. They think we don't know that we're ass over teapot in love with each other.

Well of course we know. You've got two of the most intelligent people around and they think we haven't figured out that we are meant to be ...well, you know.

We've talked about it and argued about it. But what we decided to actually do about it was...nothing.

Not yet anyway. We can't. Too much at stake, blah de blah blah.

So, we're waiting.

We agreed, for once, that in the meantime we wouldn't date anyone else.

And that was pretty much the start of the end of our little pact.

--

--

"Booth, that's completely ridiculous."

"I know, but what choice do we have?"

"We could have casual sex with any number of people and not let ourselves get attached..."

"Whoa there cowgirl, it isn't that I worry about getting attached, I just don't want to watch you riding your way across DC."

"Booth, you know I am not celibate. You know in the past three years I've had plenty of sex. There are even times you don't know about, times where I just needed release and I'd go to a bar and..."

"Enough! For crying out loud, Bones!"

"What's the problem? We have agreed, we can't be together...yet...and still you expect us both to go celibate 'til we are?"

"Yes, that's what I expect."

"Well, that will make matters incredibly difficult."

"Don't think you can go without sex, Bones?" He challenged, stepping forward and finally putting them nose to nose.

She lifted her chin and spoke slowly. "I can, and have gone without sex for significant periods of time. But when that period of time is indefinite, there is a strong likelihood that at some point, one or both of us will find the need for sexual gratification. It _is_ a biological imperative Booth."

"Look." He sighed and took a step back. "All I know is that if I can't be having you, then I don't want to be having anyone. And it will kill me to see you with someone else Bones. It just will. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I do understand." She lifted her hand, and for moment considered touching him. She squashed the impulse. "I know it would be...difficult...for me to see you with someone else too. And we have discussed that it would be impossible to have someone in our lives and not have each other know about it."

"No secrets. That's part of the deal."

She nodded, and retreated behind her desk. "Yes. I agreed to that. But I am just trying to foresee problems so we can have developed strategies to overcome them."

"Well one way to overcome a problem is not to create it in the first place. If we agree not to have sex..."

"We've already agreed you and I can't..."

"Not you and me, but you and anyone else, me and anyone else. If we agree that doesn't happen then we won't need strategies to overcome any jealously issues."

"We're both highly sexual people Booth."

"Damn straight."

Brennan smiled as she watched him puff out his chest. He grinned back at her and for a long moment they regarded each other, locked in a gaze. "So what makes you think _you_ can go without sex for an indefinite period of time?"

He stopped his dramatic posing and placed his fists on the table top and leaned his body towards hers, lowering his voice.

"Because you will be worth the wait Bones."

She gulped audibly, then deliberately and slowly rolled her chair back a few inches.

"Ok."

"Ok." He straightened and nodded and turned. His fist was just reaching up to push the glass door when she spoke.

"There are always other ways to release tension and seek gratification other than sexual intercourse. I am allowed to practise those?"

He stopped, not being able to turn and face her. "Sure Bones. That's no problem at all."

"Ok."

"Ok."

And he left.

--

**Click it...go on, you know you want to! I really want you to too! **


	3. Kissed

**A/N:** Wow, this fic picked me up and shook me and threw me back down in a much more angsty place than I anticipated it would go - I hope that is ok! Huge thanks and affection to TemperTemper and bea.tricks for beta, inspiration and guidance. I love you ladies! I tinkered ever so slightly with the first two chaps but nothing major.

--

**Three weeks earlier**

Booth draped his jacket over the back of the office couch and lifted his arms above his head, cracking his elbows and stretching out the knots. He decided he could really do with an hour or two at the shooting range, it had been weeks since he last released tension that way. And there was plenty he felt the need to release right now. But it wasn't going to happen tonight.

Instead, he sat, sinking into the deep cushions of her couch, and watched as she moved around her desk, lifting pieces of mail, moving files, organizing, shifting and tidying.

She looked exhausted. But as always, beautiful. The dark red suit she had worn to Zack's hearing was starting to look crumpled, but her elegance and posture remained. He was so proud of her.

Fatigue seemed to be his constant companion. He leaned his head back and raised his hands, scrubbing calloused palms across his face.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry."

"Yeah, me neither, but we should eat."

"Booth, I said I'm not hungry," she snapped.

He tilted his head sharply in her direction, drawing her attention. He raised an eyebrow, very much like he would at Parker when had forgotten to say please, and her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. You're right, we should eat. I just don't know if I can face anything."

He relented with a shrug of his shoulders. In truth there wasn't anything he thought he could eat now either.

This was how it had been for weeks. Late nights at the Jeffersonian, not enough sleep, not enough food, short tempers and empty stomachs. They and the rest of the Squints worked all the hours they could trawling through the Gormogon case files, evidence, artefacts, interviews and their own memories. Since Zack's involvement was revealed, since they revealed it, the team had had to revisit every piece of evidence, every report he had written, everything.

The long hours were not even occurring to them. They weren't doing it for the FBI, nor for the prosecution. Until today they had been doing it for Zack.

Until today, they thought there may have been a way to get him committed rather than imprisoned. Until today, when the judge told them there was 'a snowball's chance in hell of that happening'.

Today, they realized Zack was going to prison and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

Booth watched as she flipped through some new crime scene photos that had materialized on her desk in their absence. He noticed her eyes glazed over as she looked through the photos rather than at them.

"Leave them, Bones. They can wait 'til tomorrow."

If he needed more evidence of her exhaustion, he had it when she didn't protest but dropped the photos haphazardly on the glass table top, slowly walked over to the sofa and settled herself closer to him than she normally would. She flipped a shoe from her foot onto the rug and began to rub her toes.

"I don't know how you ladies manage it."

She raised an eyebrow in query.

"Those shoes."

Apparently, she had no answer about gait or evolutionary traits, and that worried him.

In the weeks since Zack's confession, they had talked about what they were now referring to as 'the case' endlessly. They had discussed and dissected everything they had done, everything they had said, and then gone back further, over the last year, examining other cases, thinking about everything they could remember about Zack and his behaviour. They twisted and turned the evidence, their recollections, trying to figure out how they had missed the signs. There _had _to have been signs.

But after all their searching they had to conclude there were none.

And so they had fought. She had yelled at him, just once, blaming him for being distant from Zack, for not taking more responsibility after his return from Iraq. Obviously, according to her, something had gone very, very wrong and Booth should have spotted it. There had been a heated exchange over the provision of follow up support to those who had served.

And once, he yelled back, saying he'd been very busy back then investigating a serial killer case, as they all had been, catching up on not having had a partner for three months. That resulted in one silent exit and one slammed apartment door.

But as always, she came back.

He'd caught very similar complaints from Jack. Conspiracy theory, brainwashing in the Gulf, psychosis brought on from biological warfare.

Angela had been the only one not to throw some measure of blame his direction.

But he had made himself their verbal punching bag again and again and he was glad to. She needed to talk it through, to debate and test and hypothesize, Jack just needed someone to rant at. And he had to let them get it out of their systems. They had apologized, they had forgiven and they had moved on.

Normal service had resumed, or so he thought, because now, for her to have nothing to say, even in light banter, was different.

He watched as she pulled her other shoe off and massaged each toe in turn.

They had had the obligatory sessions with Sweets, where the shrink tried to make them talk about Zack, their feelings, their hopes for the outcome. Bones had been stoic in her silence and he had only talked knowing the FBI considered their partnership at risk again if he didn't. In the past few months she had killed, he had been injured, and Booth had again been forced to arrest a person she cared deeply about.

So he talked when Sweets asked him to. But he had said nothing of value. Sweets got it straight away and showed understanding Booth previously had considered him incapable of. He allowed Bones' silence and wrote his notes as if she were participating in the sessions.

According to Caroline, despite everyone's best efforts, nothing anyone could have done would have been enough. The judge had today decided Zack was fully compos mentis, that he had been well aware of the ramifications of his actions, that he was capable of making informed, logical decisions. The judge was sending him for full trial. It would take months, if not years for the case to come to court.

There was a long road ahead and Booth needed to make sure Bones would be ok.

So this matter wasn't for Sweets, it wasn't for the FBI, it was for Bones and Booth to work out on their own. Together, and they were getting there.

But he found himself checking.

"How you doin' there, Bones?"

She sighed heavily. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Yeah."

"I don't know what I wanted to happen today Booth."

"Yes, you do." He leaned over and took her hand in his. "You wanted the judge to determine that Zack was not in control of his actions."

--

She looked down at her hand, which Booth clasped between his own. His hands were warm and rough and she noted, again, how a simple touch from Booth could comfort her. Her memory flicked back to a moment years before when she and Angela had spoken about a touch being enough to show someone what words couldn't say.

Booth was very good at doing that. She could count the number of times he had deliberately touched her specifically to comfort her. She could remember them all.

"Yes," she conceded. "That's what I wanted."

"It is what you hoped for."

"Hoped. Yes. I wanted to work it out."

"Like with your father."

She smiled sadly, not looking away from their hands. "Yes, like Dad. I made that work."

Booth squeezed her fingers and she looked up at him.

"It just wasn't supposed to happen, Bones, not this time."

"I...I don't believe that Booth...we managed it before, there must have been.." she started.

"Look," Booth said gently, shifting closer to her on the couch. "I know you don't believe things are planned out in advance. That's fine. But this time there was no get out. He confessed and he told them everything. There were no windows Bones, no gaps to squeeze this one out through."

She shook her head fiercely.

"I know you wanted to find a way, but I know you know when to stop. You didn't fail, you didn't let anyone down. We've done everything we could to figure out what happened, how this happened. But we knew this wasn't going to be the same." He sighed and slung his arm around her shoulder, pulling her tightly against him. "Whatever happens, you'll be there for Zack, just as you were there for your father. "

She remembered the conversation they had on the stairwell, how she had cried on his shoulder, then in his arms. She wanted to do that again, and a tear slipped down her cheek, but Booth spoke again and she felt the moment pass.

"Now, we've just got to get on with the job."

--

"And I suppose that means I have to hire a new forensic anthropologist."

Booth looked down at her. She seemed so tired, resigned and frustrated. and in a way he was glad. If that frustration hadn't been there he would have really worried. But it was a sign that the fire was still there, waiting to burn another day.

"You can wait a bit for that," he hedged, avoiding bringing up the ramifications of the last time she looked for a replacement for Zack.

"I don't think I'll have to. Clark wrote me offering his services. "

Booths blood temperature seemed to shoot up a couple of degrees. "That slimy little..."

"No, he was very respectful. He only wrote a few days ago. And he is very good."

He couldn't help but feel she was being a bit too eager but getting someone in quickly was a probably a good thing. He didn't want to lose her in the field and there was no way he was going through what he went through last time. And of course, this time was different, there was no chance of Zack coming back. She would have been forced to make a swifter decision either way.

"Ok." She shifted under the weight of his arm and he started to remove his arm, but she tightened her grip on his fingers.

That was unlike her, she didn't normally maintain contact with him, with anyone, longer than necessary. He could count the number of times they had maintained contact for more than a few seconds.

He looked down at her again just as she looked up at him.

And without thinking, he kissed her.

--

Through his spiralling senses, he managed to notice there was no hesitation on her part as she tilted her head to one side and opened her mouth to his. He groaned as she slipped her tongue between his lips and he brought his to meet hers. Suddenly his hands were in her hair and hers were pressed to his neck. They wrestled and pushed and pulled against each other, desperately trying to pull the other into their own bodies.

And just as suddenly as it had started, it was over.

"Shit," he whispered. He slowly opened his eyes and looked into hers, mere inches from his.

She pulled her hand away from the nape of his neck, brought her fingers to her lips. His heart leaped into his throat as he watched her smooth her thumb across her bottom lip, then as she reached out to touch his face.

He grabbed her hand by the wrist.

"Bones, I'm sorry...I...I shouldn't have done that I..."

"Ssssh." She pushed against his restrainging hand and for a second he held her tighter. Then, he abruptly released her hand and she achieved her goal of smoothing her thumb across his lips. His eyes slammed shut.

"Why did you do that? Why tonight?" she asked, with no trace of teasing.

Was it that moment? Was it all or nothing time? He found himself without words, his mouth flapping like a fish out of water.

"Booth."

"I wanted to."

"Yes, but you've wanted to do that for a long time. Why tonight?"

He jerked his head back at her words. She focused her clear blue eyes directly on his, and as ever he saw no lie, no manipulation, just an honest, pure question coming from an honest and pure soul.

"I've known how you feel about me for a long time, Booth. So I'm asking why you chose tonight to kiss me."

Booth felt like he had plummeted through the floor. He had to get away from her, he couldn't think straight while still touching her. He unceremoniously untangled himself from her hands and arms and legs, which had somehow wound around his, and stood. She didn't follow.

He paced for a moment, and could feel her watching him. He turned and looked and yes, she was just waiting, patient and open, no hint of distress. Although, he managed to notice through his confusion, that her cheeks were flushed, and the blush had spread onto her chest, her glorious, well rounded, full...

"Booth, I'm up here." She indicated her eyes with two fingers.

"Shit," he said again. This was not the time to start being obvious about those sort of distractions. He stopped pacing and stood in front of her desk. He raised his hands and ran them roughly though his hair, trying to find the words. As the moment stretched on Bones stood and walked towards him, blues eyes firmly locked on his, looking kind of how she approached a dead body.

"Oh God." He swallowed. He was a dead man.

She stopped inches in front of him, and he fought the unfamiliar urge to step back.

"I'm glad you kissed me Booth."

"You are? You are!" He knew he sounded surprised, maybe because he was.

"I've wanted you to kiss me for a long time. "

"You have? You have!" Surprise had turned to shock.

"Are you going to repeat everything I say?"

"No?" But he acknowledged his voice was definitely going higher that usual.

Bones reached down and took his hand back into hers. He looked down at their entwined fingers and marvelled at how natural it seemed. She looked down to their hands, and then back to him and he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"Please Booth. I need you to tell me why you did that tonight."

--

She_ was_ glad he had kissed her. It had confirmed a dozen different thoughts she had been fighting to make sense of. But she now had to move forward, to find out what happened next. She knew what she knew, and she wanted to know more.

"Bones, I kissed you because it seemed like the thing to do."

"I don't know what that means."

"I kissed you because I wanted to. Because I finally got the feeling that if I did, you might not kill me. I'm still trying to decide if that was a correct assessment."

She squeezed his fingers. "I'm not going to kill you, Booth."

Another memory surfaced – this time Booth telling her that if she wanted to find something personal out about someone, she should offer a piece of herself first. She decided to offer a big piece.

"Booth, I think you have known for a long time that I feel the way about you, as you do about me."

His eyes widened like saucers, and he swallowed noisily and nodded.

"So, we feel the same way, but we haven't acted on those feelings. "

"I don't know that I have an answer you'll like. "

She sighed, frustrated at his reluctance to answer her question. Booth was the person who made things clear, who exposed the simplicities behind the intricacies. Why was he suddenly talking in riddles?

"Look, can I ask you a question first?" He said.

She nodded slowly.

"When you say you feel the same way do you mean...look, I'm not second guessing you, it is just sometimes we speak a different language...so I just need to make sure we're both talking about the same thing."

"I love you, Booth."

"Oh, God," he breathed, before drawing her into a crushing embrace.

She relaxed into his strong arms that seemed to encircle more than just her body, but reached out and soothed her mind as well. As he buried his face into her hair she allowed herself just to feel for a few seconds of peace and then, slowly and regretfully, she began to withdraw.

He looked at her, his eyes shining, but the longer he looked, the smile began to fade.

"Bones...what is it?"

"Booth, I watched you die."

He closed his eyes tightly and drew her back into his arms again and she could remember no place she had ever felt safer. But this time his embrace felt different, desperate.

Again, she untangled herself and moved away, putting herself out of his reach. She found herself hating the look of confusion on his face and spoke quickly.

"Booth, I watched you die. Obviously I didn't really, but at the time, and for two weeks afterwards I thought I did. Those weeks were two of the worst of my entire life."

He opened his mouth to speak but she raised a hand, and he silenced.

"I know we've talked about this, talked about how mistakes were made, how I was supposed to find out but didn't. And that is all ok with me. Well, now it is." She smiled crookedly, but noted he didn't join her smile. "I understand what you did, and why you did it and that what happened afterwards was not your fault. What happened was about duty. It was about your job and it was about you, who you are and what you'll do to protect the ones you love."

"I hear a but coming," he said sadly.

"But," she nodded, "I know I said I compartmentalized my feelings in those weeks. And I did, but I seemed to exist within those compartments for different times. Those two weeks _were_ the worst of my life and I couldn't escape them, and I didn't want to. I wanted to feel and live every second of them because missing you, grieving for you, made sense.

"But it is only weeks later and I am losing another friend. I am losing someone I care deeply about and there is a very good chance that he will die."

"Bones," Booth whispered, his voice cracking on her name. "I can't ever take back what happened to you in those two weeks. I can't ever. You have to know that I regret every moment of pain I have ever caused you. And I wish, above all things, that I could promise I will never cause you pain again, but I don't think that would be a promise I could keep."

She strained to speak now, tears were beginning to clog her throat. "I wouldn't expect you to promise me that."

She swallowed hard. "Before all this, before you, before Zack, this job was my life. This job, the bones of the people I am trying to identify, those were the people I cared about most in the world. But then there was you. You've given me so much, so much more than I ever dreamed possible. I see the world now, I see possibilities I didn't before.

"I always saw humans on my table, their pain, their struggles, but I still saw them in isolation. I don't anymore. I see families torn apart, I see the ones left behind. Until I had a family of my own, of which you are a part, I didn't understand that.

"I want to continue to give these people their stories, and I want to save their loved ones from pain. I want to help you stop the bastards that kill families.

"And so, this is bigger to me now, more important than ever. And I can't do anything to risk that. The reasons for not being with you, that have always been there, have become more tangible to me.

"So while we are here, in this job, with these responsibilities, I can't be with you.

--

Booth's head swam. She loved him. He loved her and yet they were not going to be together. He tried to touch her again and lifted out his hand to cup her jaw but she leaned away from him.

"Booth," she sighed. He had never heard her sound so resigned, matching the feeling that had settled in his stomach like lead. He breathed deeply.

He shook his head. This was no longer just about duty, or box number 1472 in Limbo. This was about Zack, this was about Pam. This was about Angela and Hodgins and Cam who needed them, this was about Caroline and every other lawyer in this town, this was not just about those victims not yet dignified with an identify, it was about those people who would be victims, and everyone who loved them.

She was finally catching on.

He knew this woman, this beautiful creature in front of him, poised and elegant, but broken inside. He had waited for three long years to hear her make a connection between her head and her heart that would stick solid, a connection that she wouldn't push aside as if she had checked a box of emotional growth and could move on to the next experience.

She had stopped treating their partnership and friendship as an experiment, something to learn and grow from and had had an epiphany.

He only wished it hadn't cost her so much in the process. She was shaken, torn and hurting. And he'd done the worst possibly thing he could do. He'd kissed her.

He had always thought that the moment they finally threw caution to the wind and admitted their feelings for each other, they would be together forever. He knew he was an idiot to think like that when it was Bones but hell, he was an idiot.

And so he decided, in those few seconds of silence, in the gulf growing between them, that he would give her space and time to grow into her new feelings. And if it took a week, a month, a year, he promised himself in that moment he would wait.

He reached out again, to cup her face in his hands. She again pulled away.

"No, Bones. No, it's ok. I don't want to make this hard. I just have to know one thing."

She nodded.

"Can we...will we ever be together?"

And slowly, she nodded again.

"When?" he asked, tentatively.

--

"I don't know." And she truly didn't. She watched Booth's face as lines appeared on his forehead, as he considered her response.

Finally, he spoke. "Life doesn't work the way we want it to. I can't predict the future, I can't change the past. What I can do is try to make this as easy as possible."

Brennan felt panic begin to well inside her. He had to have understood her, she can't do this without him. He wasn't going to suggest the end of their partnership?

"I won't touch you again, until _we_ decide the time is right. I won't kiss you, I won't hold you. I won't do anything to make this harder than it has to be."

"Booth." Suddenly she was overcome with irrational fear. Hearing him say those words, made real all she was putting on hold. Was she making a mistake? She lifted her fingers to her lips again, and imagined how his had felt as they gently, then desperately moved over hers.

"Ok, Ok, I might push you out of the door if you're dragging your feet, and I might help you on with your coat or something, but that's it."

She smiled weakly at his attempt at humor and for a second, she thought he was going to disregard everything he had just said and step forward and take her into his arms. She wanted him too, but he didn't and so she didn't move. Instead he stepped sideways and past her, leaving her looking at a blank spot where he had been. She heard him pick his jacket up from the back of her couch and the rustle of the fabric as he slipped it on.

"Life is unpredictable Bones. I can't promise that I'll succeed, I love you more than I know how to deal with sometimes. But I will try my best.

It will be ok Bones. You'll see. We'll make it."

And with that he left, leaving her crying as she heard the words from him she knew she might not hear again for a very long time.

--

**Yikes - what _are_ they thinking? Find out next in 'The Pact'. I have most of this fic done and ready to post, but always hope for reader input to ensure I'm getting a product that will be enjoyed! Please, let me know what you think...that little blue button is the joy button!**


	4. Informed

**A/N: **Thank you so much for your reviews - they are so helpful and luckily my head didn't spin off my shoulders! Thanks especially to skellingtonlover, Aching Bones, bea - all reviews are so gratefully welcomed and those that really delve into the depths fo the story help me out no end!

Now, back to the story...containing characters which still aren't mine no matter how much I beg!

--

Angela wasn't exactly late, but then she wasn't exactly early either. There had been lots of late nights and early mornings recently but yesterday had taken its toll. Little had been spoken by the group after the Judge's decision came down. In a scene reminiscent of one mere weeks before, Angela had silently hugged her best friend, hard, and then turned into the arms of her fiancé and walked slowly away.

When she and Jack had gone home after Max's trial, having spent their first night apart in months, there had been feelings of relief, happiness, gratitude and thankfulness.

None of those words fit today.

Angela shifted the casefile from one arm to the other and knocked gently on Brennan's office door, but walked in not waiting for an answer. She never did, never needed too.

And she was glad she hadn't today.

"Sweetie, what happened?" She rushed to Brennan's side where her friend lay, curled up on the couch. "Have you been here all night?"

Brennan nodded stiffly as she unfolded herself and raised herself up an elbow before moving to lean against the arm.

"Bren?" Angela was stunned, she'd rarely seen Brennan so ruffled and crumpled, with hair sticking out at every angle and cheeks and eyes red and puffy.

"Yes Angela, I've been here all night."

"What happened? I thought Booth was bringing you back here to pick up some files and then taking you home?"

"He did. Well, we came back here for the files." Angela watched as Brennan lifted her hands to her cheeks and then to her hair, grimacing as she found the tangled and knotted locks. "Have you...Can you get my brush?"

Angela was unwilling to leave Brennan's side, but knew people were buzzing around outside the office door and that Brennan would be mortified if anyone saw her looking the way she did right now. She got up and grabbed Brennan's purse from her desk and handed it to her before sitting on the couch.

She watched as Brennan dug in her purse, pulled out a brush, a mirror and then frowned as her friend's face crumpled as she caught sight of herself in the tiny compact. Brennan looked at Angela who could only return a slight shrug of the shoulders. Yes, she did look that bad.

Brennan set about tidying and fixing, trying hard to ignore Angela's pointed stare and the drum of her fingernails on the back on the couch.

Stalling for time, Brennan brushed the last few copper strands back behind her ears and cleaned her face with a tissue. Finally presentable, or as close as possible without a shower, she methodically replaced all the items back into her purse, flipped the clasp and folded her hands on top of her lap.

"Booth kissed me."

"Ahh I knew it," Angela sighed.

Brennan had expected squealing, shouting, possibly even laughing and crying at the same time. But Angela hadn't even cried at Zack's hearing yesterday. She said she was 'all cried out' and now Brennan really believed her.

"I knew he would, yesterday was just too much I knew the dam would break. He kissed you!" Angela took hold of Brennan's shoulders and started to pull her in for a hug.

"Angela...wait."

"But he kissed you Bren!" Angela said, her voice beginning to show some of the enthusiasm she had expected. Angela reached out, pulling her close.

Brennan found herself speaking into Angela's hair. "I know, Angela, I told you that. Plus I was there."

"Wait a minute." Angela's tone abruptly changed and she abruptly pushed Brennan away to arm's length. "You've been in your office all night, _crying_, because Booth kissed you?"

"Yes." Brennan felt ashamed and had no idea why that should be.

"God Bren. What happened?"

Brennan hadn't wanted to tell the details to anyone but Angela's face had fallen from the closest she'd seen to joy for weeks into something nearer to sympathy.

So Brennan told her. She told her best friend that her other best friend had kissed her. She told her how she had kissed him back, how he had talked and listened, how he had paced and stood silently. How she had decided that it wouldn't work and that he had accepted that. And that he had left and she stayed.

But, for no reason she could accurately discern, she left out the declarations of love they had shared and the fact she had been the one to insist it wouldn't work.

Angela sighed. "You two are just beyond words, you know that?"

Brennan shrugged. This conversation was inevitable, it was best to get it over and done with. "Ange, I know you care for me, and for Booth. What you've done for me, what you did for me, and Dad, I'll never forget. But this, this between me and Booth. We've made the right decision, I know we have."

"I'm sorry Bren, but that's crap." Angela took Brennan's purse from her lap and placed it on the table in front of the couch.

"You need to kiss him again."

"Ange."

"No. I'm right. You need to kiss him again."

"That wouldn't achieve anything."

"Yes it would. It would show you both that this understanding you have going on is a pile of horse crap."

Brennan stayed silent.

"You two have been through so much. I can't even begin to list it all, but just think, just think about the last few weeks. He has been there for you every day Bren. He has done everything in his power to make you happy, to fix whatever he can fix to make things better. And he does make you happy, doesn't he?"

Brennan nodded.

"So, remember you told me, a year ago, that you know that you're missing out on love, that you know you stop yourself forming strong emotional bonds with someone, because you're scared. You remember that? Well I'm here to tell you babe, you're too late. Emotional bond formed."

And her resolution to keep some things private failed. "I know Angela, we know. We love each other."

Angela's jaw dropped. "You...you said that? To each other? You told him you love him?"

"Yes."

And within a heartbeat Angela had gathered Brennan back in her arms and was squeezing with all her might.

Brennan choked on a sob but relaxed into the hug. She had after all, she reasoned, spent half the night on her couch aching to be held.

Eventually, Angela pulled back slowly, continuing to grip Brennan firmly on the arms and she gazed at her friend through continuing tears.

"I am so proud of you, sweetie."

"Thanks, Angela."

"So tell me again, what is all this insanity about not being together?"

Brennan sighed, resigned to telling Angela those details she had so wanted to keep to herself. She drew back, causing Angela to release her arms and as soon as the contact was broken, Brennan refocused.

She relayed the key points of her discussion with Booth. She laid out how things had changed for her since the demise of Gormogon, since Zack's confession. She elaborated more than she had done for Booth how deeply she had been affected by the death of Pam Nunan. She cried as she spoke about her guilt over the pain Pam's family must be feeling, and what Zack's family must be going through.

And she told her best friend how she now viewed the world in a different way.

"You, Angela, you and Booth have showed me how wide the world is. How things are connected and integrated in ways I never imagined possible. I have a family of my own now. I have my father, my brother, his girlfriend and girls. I have you and Hodgins. I still have Zack. And I still have Booth. I thought I'd lost him, Ange."

Through a stunning fog of information Angela zoned in on her friend. She'd listened as Brennan poured out her grief and her heart and inside it all Angela had heard the positives. She saw the changes tearing through the woman she cared most about in the world.

Her heart broke all over again as she listened to Brennan describe the depth of pain she had felt in those two weeks when she thought she'd lost Booth forever, the man she knew her friend had come to love and trust above all others.

"I know, I know honey, I was there. I saw you. I saw you close yourself off to everything. I watched you retreat inside that shell I thought you'd cast aside for ever. I couldn't get through to you. I was so scared we were losing you too. I know I wasn't a good friend, I should have tried harder."

"No, Ange, you did everything you could. I know you were missing Booth as much as I was."

Angela sniffed a little laugh. "Apparently not."

Brennan smiled softly. "Maybe, but please understand. I am so grateful to have you, all of you, as my family.

"Bren, that's what I don't understand. What you're saying, it sounds like you have finally reconciled the understanding that you need to let people in, with actually doing it. You are sitting here telling me it is ok to let people love you and to love them back."

"I am, I have. But that is also the problem. I know now how family feels. I know what love is, beyond what I have ever felt before. And now, more than ever, I feel the need to preserve that for others. I have this ability to do something very few others can do. Booth and I, we do this job together and we help people. I know now that that is more important than anything else. "

"No, Bren, it isn't." Angela found herself needing to temper a growing impatience. She knew had to strike close to Brennan's heart to get her to see, to feel.

"Tell me what it felt like."

"What what felt like?"

"The kiss, when Booth kissed you. What did it feel like?"

"Angela!"

"No, come on. Pretend it isn't me if that helps. Pretend I'm Sweets!"

Brennan raised a questioning eyebrow.

"No, ok then pretend you're telling someone who doesn't know the pair of you. Pretend it isn't your best friend who has been praying and willing for this to happen for three years! Tell me what it felt like?"

"I don't understand why."

"Just do it. Trust me, sweetie."

Brennan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Ok. It felt...it felt...strong. It felt precise. It felt warm and unhurried. And then it changed. It felt fast, and critical. Like it wasn't meant to end." Brennan touched her fingers to her lips and sighed. "Ange, it felt exactly how I thought it would."

After a moment to allow herself to swallow Angela spoke. "So do it again."

"What? No, Angela have you been listening to me?"

"I have, and I think you should do it again."

"Why?"

"Because I understand. I understand that you've changed, I've seen it, I've wished for it, and I love it. You're still you, you're still the Bren I love, but you've become so much more. And I want yet more for you. I think being with Booth will make you even more capable of doing what you have to do."

"Explain."

"Ok. Look at me." Brennan lifted her chin and focused on Angela's face, her eyes roaming across her skin as if trying to find something.

"No, Bren, I mean look at me as an example. I was losing my way. I was hating my job, I felt I was losing my soul to the cadavers and the skeletons and the faces that swam before me even in my dreams. I was losing a piece of myself with each new case and I was sad Brennan, I was very sad.

"And then I nearly lost you, and I nearly lost Jack. I nearly lost the two people I cared for most in the world. And I didn't even know it at the time that I cared that deeply for Jack! He pulled me back from the brink. He says..." She started to cry. "He says I saved him, after the burial. But it was the other way around. I started to feel again, I gave part of myself to another person and he cherishes it and strengthens it and gives it back to me. And I'm stronger because of it.

"And Booth will do that for you, and you will do that for him. Do you know how lucky you are, how precious this is? You know now_, right now, _that he loves you, and that you love him in return. He will make you stronger, not weaker. Giving a part of yourself to someone else to nourish is not admitting that you are not whole without them, but that you are willing to give to become more. "

Brennan whispered. "Ange, I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll damn well kiss that man again!" Angela laughed through her tears and Brennan joined her.

"I appreciate everything you've said. I really do. But I can't be that person yet, Ange. I understand what you are saying, but I'm not ready. I haven't reached this decision lightly. I am barely functioning in my job right now. There isn't enough of me to share with another person and while I continue to do this work..." Angela started to interrupt but Brennan reached over and took her hand tightly. "While I'm doing this job, I can't be with him."

Angela knew when she was temporarily defeated. "So, what are you going to do? I know your resolved face. You've come up with a plan."

Brennan smiled. "I don't know if you could call it a plan. Booth said he would make this easy. And he is a man of his word. But, I have been thinking all night."

"Oh, God."

Brennan ignored her. "I think we need to set some ground rules, to help us know where the lines are. He laid lines for us once and it worked for a very long time. I think I am going to have to be the one to set them this time."

"You two will be the death of me! You're making the man wait, and now you're going to give him guidelines on how to behave around you. He'll never_ ever_ go for it! Angela shook her head. "Look, just tell me what you have planned, I will tell you how ridiculous it is and then you can go and do it anyway."

Frowning, Brennan reached over and grabbed a piece of paper from the table. She unfolded it and placed it on Angela's lap. Angela bent her head over it and read it. Then read it again.

"You can't be serious."

"As serious as a heart attack." She smiled, but Angela looked at her questioningly. "Booth taught me that expression," she explained with a wink.

"You're crazy. Honey, I love you but you're crazy. You're going to deeply offend him. You just told me he is a man of his word and you're going to place restrictions on him. He will hate this Bren. Truly."

Brennan swallowed. She thought quickly and added Angela's comments to the hours of debate she had had with herself through the night.

"I have to make him see that this is the best all round. I believe him when he says he won't make this harder than it has to be. But it is going to be difficult regardless. He is very attractive and now I know what it is like to be intimate with him..."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Honey, listen to yourself! You can not ask him to sign a contract to keep his hands off you!"

"It seemed the most sensible option."

"It seemed the most sensible option at 3am this morning when you were crying yourself silly about agreeing not to be with the man you love."

"I have to do something. I have to get him to agree to some of these things so that we won't start hating each other."

Angela closed her mouth with an almost audible smack. She mouthed a few words, trying to form a coherent sentence and eventually spoke.

"God, Bren, you just have me thinking that you're running away again, and then you say something like that."

"I don't know what that means."

"I'll tell you what it means. It means you have to get Booth to agree to a set of conditions, rules to govern the way you two can be in the same room as each other because you're afraid you won't be able to do that without tearing his clothes off and going hell for leather on your desk."

Brennan blushed furiously, but was adamant. "No, I said we might end up hating each other."

"Your mouth says these words, but my ears hear different."

Then it was Brennan's turn to roll her eyes.

"The only way...the _only_ way you will get Booth to agree to something like that is if he thinks it is his idea. You follow me?"

"You're saying I need to manipulate Booth into coming up with these rules himself so he agrees to them without it looking like I am manipulating him into that position."

"Exactly."

"Ok."

"You don't sound very sure, hun," Angela said.

"I don't think I am very good at manipulating Booth."

"Pssht!"

"Ange!"

"Try it. See what happens. That man will do anything for you. And I imagine now he will probably do more. "

"Ok. I'll go by tonight and talk to him."

"You'll go to his place tonight and _talk_ to him?"

Brennan noted Angela's voice went high at the end of that sentence.

"Yes, Ange," she said, in what she hoped was a sarcastic tone. "I'll go to his place and _talk_ to him."

"Well," Angela said, her eyes flicking away from Brennan's over her shoulder and through the glass wall. "You could talk to him now too, he is on his way over here."

Brennan's face paled dramatically and she spun her head round to face the window. There he was paused at Jack's workstation, obviously on the way to her office, casefile under arm.

Angela laughed at the question Brennan didn't ask. "Yes Sweetie, you look fine." She smiled as she watched Brennan fiddle with the buttons on her shirt, smoothing the front of the somewhat crumpled garment. "Yes, you two are going to find this pact really easy!"

Brennan shot her a look that Angela would have sworn could have frozen water, and then her eyes flitted to the door again. Booth was still standing with Jack.

Angela gave Brennan's hand one last squeeze and stood. "Good luck. Oh, and I've had a thought. I'm going to get you a present."

"A what? Ange, what?" Brennan stammered, distracted still.

"Nothing babe. I'll talk to you later." And she turned and started to walk out of the office.

"Ange."

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Angela made it all the way to Jack's station before Booth noticed her.

"Hey Angela."

"Hey Booth. " She put on her best tease voice, drawing out the syllable of his name to breaking point, but then she looked him directly in the eye and immediately regretted her tone when she saw how exhausted he looked and how sad.

For a few minutes with Brennan, she had put aside the direct effects of what they had all been through in these past weeks. Since the decision yesterday, the world felt different somehow and it came crashing back in on her that moment. And of course he had just had his heart broken by the woman he was madly in love with. She reached out and grabbed his arm and lightly squeezed.

He looked down at her hand on his arm in mild surprise. "What is it?" he asked, in a tone that sounded as tired as she thought he looked.

"Oh, I can't tell you now. I'll let you have it later." She lowered her voice and spoke in what she hoped was a sincere voice.

"Ok." He turned, and Angela watched as he straightened his posture, growing taller with every step towards Brennan's office, as if preparing himself for something he really didn't want to do.

"What's all that about?" Jack asked.

"I'll tell you later, at home."

"You ok?"

"Yes, Jack. I think today will be a short day though."

"Whatever you say."

And, for what would not be the final time, Angela wished that Brennan and Booth would let each other in, to provide the kind of support for each other that she and Jack had found. She turned from where she watched Booth to her fiancé and kissed him gently on the cheek, before turning and walking to her office.

--

**A/N: Well I was yelled at by a few people for letting Booth and Bren talk themselves out of being together. Hopefully Angela's comments and indignation have redressed the balance somewhat :)**

insert witty begging statement for reviews ;)


	5. The Pact

**A/N: **I can't thank all the people who have reviewed this enough! You all ROCK! I know this is stirring up some conflicting emotions in my readers - **GOOD**! Wahey - I say!

**--**

Brennan was aware her hand was shaking noticeably as she lifted it to press the buzzer to announce her arrival at Booth's apartment. Nervousness wasn't something she felt often and she didn't have many mechanisms in place to deal with it. It was unsettling.

She was fully prepared and had spent a good few hours in the day thinking hard about the actions she had prepared to take tonight. Angela's instructions, and opinions, strident as they were, were fully taken into account, and mostly discarded. She had reviewed her own confused emotions on the matter and she had decided what would have helped enormously was talking to Sweets, but she recognised the lack of sense in that line of thought.

She breathed deeply, readjusted the file she had balanced on her hip and pushed on the door as the buzzer sounded to unlock it. She walked the two flights to his floor, rapped her knuckles on the door and waited.

Eventually, as she was about to lift her hand and knock again, she heard him approach. She listened as he slid a chain off the door and then unlatched it. She shook her hair over her shoulder and smiled broadly as he opened the door.

"Hey, Bones, come on in."

"Thanks," she said and moved quickly past him as he stood aside.

x-x-x-x

Booth watched her as she placed a file on the table inside his door and then started to take off her jacket. His fingers itched to help her remove it, but touching could lead to repeating and repeating could lead to bad things. He pulled the dishcloth he had draped over his shoulder into his hands and pretended to dry them off instead.

She hung her jacket on the hooks along the wall and turned slowly to look at him. Their eyes met and for a few seconds neither spoke.

Then, predictably, both rushed in.

"Traffic ok?"

"Can I help with anything?"

They laughed and she smiled again.

"Can I get you a glass of wine? "

"No, thanks. Driving." She indicated over her shoulder, presumably in an attempt to point to where her car was parked outside. Booth noticed the odd movement. She wasn't usually one for superfluous hand gestures.

"I was just washing up. You've eaten right? I can fix you something."

"Yes, thank you, I ate before I came."

x-x-x-x

She was sure Booth could tell she was lying, and the way his eyes had just flitted to her hand, she was now certain he knew she was nervous.

"Ok, then. Come on in."

Brennan followed him to his living area and sat on the single seater chair he had placed in front of TV for "surround sound".

She had only been here a couple of times before, which was strange considering the amount of time he spent at her place.

She remembered how awkward it had been for both of them during her father's trial when he had come to the door with a Warrant. No matter how necessary the piece of paper was, seeing him standing there at her door with an official warrant made the place where they had spent so many comfortable evenings together feel alien. She felt the same now, oddly out of place. Maybe it was because the last time she was here she had let herself in and walked straight into this bathroom, while he was in the bath. Or maybe it was that it was more familiar to be at her place, with Booth banging on her door at a late hour with an arm full of Thai take out.

His voice stirred her from her reverie. "You sure you don't want a drink?"

"I'll have some water, if you have it." Brennan realized as it came out of her mouth how ridiculous that was.

x-x-x-x

"Sure," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her. "I think I have some water around here somewhere. Let me go see..."

She smiled crookedly as he exited the room backwards, deliberately staring at her as if she'd said the most ridiculous thing in the world. Which she had. But she recognized he was trying to make her feel at home, keep up the jovial banter they shared and she appreciated the gesture.

She hadn't had time to look around his place before. The last time she had been blazing through the apartment calling out to him in what could be considered blind fury. Befroe the few times she had been here, she hadn't ever imagined his place, hadn't thought about what articles he would have in his apartment, what kind of furnishings he would have. Those just weren't things she thought about. But now she was here and needed a few moments to centre herseld, she looked around to see what she could glean.

She called out to him as he moved around his kitchen.

"We...err...we got the facial reconstruction from Angela for the remains from the river."

"Oh right?" he called back. She could hear him open the fridge and pop three ice cubes into a glass.

"Yeah." She knew she sounded strange. She felt strange.

"Is that what you have in that file?"

She looked down at the brown envelope on her lap.

"No."

She looked up and found him stood in the doorway, water glass in one hand, bottle of beer in the other.

"No?"

"No. This is...err, this is."

x-x-x-x

Booth was bemused. Temperance Brennan was squirming, actually, hand to God, squirming. And at that moment in time he had little inclination to alleviate her obvious suffering.

She had called him earlier that day and in her usual style, insisted that she be invited round this evening as she had something to discuss. He was damned if he was going to let her off the hook by drawing it out of her.

So in his usual style, he let the quiet linger.

"This is an agreement I've drawn up."

"An agreement?" And suddenly he had a terrible feeling he knew exactly where this was heading. He placed her glass on his coffee table and sat on the couch.

"Yes," she answered.

"Ok."

"I think we need to set some ground rules."

"Ok."

"Is that OK?"

"It's fine."

"Booth, that is the tone of voice you use when you mean the exact opposite of what you say."

"Really? 'Cos I thought it was my regular voice."

"It wasn't. Anyway, I've just written a brief outline, of things we should and shouldn't do, until such time as we, erm, can do those things."

Booth leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees and massaged his temples.

Brennan leaned down to try and see his face. "Booth?"

"Yes," he replied weakly.

"Are you ok? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth.

"Ok," she hurried on. "I'll show you what I've drawn up."

Booth felt the vein in the side of his head start to pulse. He squinted up at her, and sure enough, she was shuffling through papers, pulling out sheets and looking at them, then reshuffling and looking at them again. She either couldn't find what it was she was looking for, or she was rapidly changing her mind.

So again, he let silence ring out.

"Mmm, no, ok. I think I may have to rethink."

"Forgotten something important, Bones?" He couldn't help it, the anger coupled with disbelief currently pulsing round his body made it hard to do anything but be sarcastic.

"No, no. I'm just re-evaluating something."

"Ok, just let me know when you're ready."

He barked out a laugh as she nodded precisely and continued to leaf through her papers. She appeared not to notice and he rolled his eyes and leaned back into the leather couch.

"I...I have come up with a hypothesis."

"A hypothesis," he repeated.

"Yes and from that I think, I think, we have to, in some instances, change our behaviour, put limits on what we can and can't do. Then we'll have evidence to support my hypothesis and it will become a theory."

"A theory."

"Yes, a theory, but until then it needs further testing."

The pulsing got stronger.

"So I wrote some things down, what kind of events I expect will happen, situations that will inevitably arise. I was hoping we could discuss them and work out strategies of how to resolve these issues."

That was it. He snapped, he jumped to his feet and yelled.

"I can't believe you Bones, I just can't believe you!"

She stood up and looked at him, wide eyed and stunned into silence. He didn't think he had ever shouted at her before.

"You come here, with a hypothesis and a theory and a set of rules and regulations, ready to use me as your lab rat. Didn't you just get through telling Sweets that if he continued to use us as an experiment I'd kick his ass?"

"You heard that...?"

"I don't always need to hear the words, Bones. I'm pretty damn perceptive."

Her mouth worked soundlessly.

Booth's ire took over. "I told you, I told you last night that I would... I would make this as easy as possible for you. What did you think I meant? That now instead of bringing you evidence and juicy cadavers to work on, I'd just come into your office and throw you on your desk and take what I wanted?"

He saw her eyes tear up and he instantly regretted his last question.

Trying hard to find sympathy, he flopped down onto the couch and left her standing in the middle of the room. After all, he had started this ball rolling.

He couldn't trust himself to say anything else at that point in time that he wouldn't regret. He was pissed that after all they had been through together, she would consider such an agreement necessary.

There was more uncomfortable silence, and then she spoke, low and quietly. "I'm sorry Booth, I do trust you, with my head and my heart. But this is how I do things. I construct and I evaluate. I have to organize myself. I don't adjust easily."

And for the first time since her arrival Booth felt his blood pressure drop.

"_Don't you know by now you can't rush her_." His words to Sweets echoed sharply in his ears.

Being in love was an event for her, he wasn't sure she had ever experienced it before. And he damn well wanted to make sure it would never happen again with anyone other than him.

It hurt but he knew the woman he had fallen in love with and he knew how she handled things, and more importantly he knew why.

He took a deep steadying breath. "I understand why you are doing this and so I will agree to ground rules, I'll agree to a "Pact."" He hooked his fingers in the air around the word. "But I won't agree to any written contract, or put up with evaluation and dissection. We agree to this and that's it. Done."

She nodded and wiped away a lone tear that had escaped. He couldn't help himself, he reached out and took her hand.

He needed to connect with her again, in her language. "You know, we've created what Sweets would call "a burden of acknowledgement."

She was looking at their hands now, but nodded for him to continue.

"Until last night, we were just Special Agent Booth and Doctor Brennan, getting on with the job. We each knew that we were in love with the other, and we could live with that." He paused, then added solemnly. "We live with bigger secrets.

"What we've done is say out loud what we both knew inside, and more importantly, what we both knew about each other. I knew how you felt – right? I wasn't wrong, that's been proven." He smiled as she blushed at his insight.

"But the burden following acknowledgement is that now instead of just putting up with our own concerns and pain over this," he wagged his finger between the two of them, "we've confirmed each other's feelings and that makes everything more real."

Her blue eyes looked astonished.

"What?" he questioned lightly. "I did do some behavioural psychology myself at Quantico."

He sighed and dropped her hand. "But more real is probably the last thing either of us need right now."

She looked at him, with a gaze he measured halfway between respect and fear.

"I'm sorry I kissed you, Bones."

Immediately respect was replaced with pure fear. "Why?"

"Because this is just one more burden for you to carry right now. And because from now until whenever it is we can be together we have to live knowing that we're both putting the greatest experience of our lives on hold. And whether that is for a bigger purpose we'll only know when we come out the other side. But I know how much this matters to you. And because it is important to you that makes it more important to me."

He motioned for her to sit beside him on the couch. She hesitated for a moment then complied. He turned his body to face her and moved himself out of her reach.

"That's what love is, Bones. Because something is important to you, it is important to me. "

He watched as she digested and contemplated his words, and eventually she spoke.

"I understand."

He believed that she did.

And now he had to give her back the ground he had taken from her by shouting. She needed structure and this whole debacle was based in what she perceived to be logic, so even if it killed him to do it, he would play it her way. "Ok. So shall we get started? You kick us off and if I think of anything else I'll chime in."

She nodded calmly and spoke. "There should be a decrease in the amount we touch each other."

Now was Booth's turn to look surprised. "That isn't that I thought number one would be."

"What did you think number one would be?"

"I don't know but I didn't think it would be that. You're ok with me still touching you?"

"It has become plain over the last three years that the vast majority of our communication is achieved through eye contact and body language. If we were to stop that then our work would suffer. It would be unnecessarily awkward and unwise to cease the level of contact we have now."

Booth nodded and found himself suppressing a smile. "That's logical. Next?"

"With rule one in mind, there can't be an increase in body contact."

He saw a guy hug in her office, a playful push into the interrogation room, his head resting on her shoulder on the steps of the GW monument. "You mean no more of..."

She interrupted. "Yes, I mean no more of that."

"Sure."

"Booth?"

"Bones?"

"Although I have taken into account our earlier conversation, I had considered that this rule might be hard to get you to agree to."

"You are a frustrating woman Bones, most of the time I can't bear to even be in the same room as you," he teased her, but gave her a reassuring wink. "Next."

"We shouldn't put a deadline on this..." He watched her stumble to find a word.

"Let's go with pact."

"Yes. That seems sufficient."

"No deadline?"

"A deadline gives the impression that the reasons for this pact are moveable. They are, but we, will at some point cease to operate in the partnership as we do now. However we cannot foresee when that will be and so putting a deadline would only lead to one thing."

"One thing?" he echoed.

"Slips."

"Oh."

"Yes, we would be much more likely to bring forward the 'climax' if we set an end date."

Booth gulped, but luckily for him she moved swiftly on.

"No secrets. We don't have to tell each other everything, but anything that may impact this agreement, anything that could be reasonably anticipated to affect the pact should not go undiscussed."

"Err, I don't really know what that means, but ok..."

She steamrollered right through him. "I have one final rule."

"Shoot."

"We will be together, Booth."

Booth sighed and laid back into the couch, and rubbed his face with his hands.

"What?" she asked, sounding worried.

"It is just, Bones, when you make rules like that, it makes it very hard to keep the rest of them." He opened one eye and peered at her. Then smiled and she did too.

"So, Bones, is that it?"

"I think so." And he watched her fight the urge to reach over for her papers. "Yes, I believe so."

"I thought there would be more."

"I believe we have the basics covered."

"Handshake then, partner?" he sat forward and offered her his hand.

She looked at him curiously, then took his hand and shook it firmly, withdrawing quickly.

Yeah, Booth thought, this whole touching, not touching thing was going to be a breeze!

And against his better judgement right then, he wanted her to stay. "So, you wanna watch a game?"

"No, thank you. I've got an early start tomorrow."

"You've _always_ got an early start, Bones."

"I know," she said. "Just, I need an early night." She stood, stuffed all the papers haphazardly into her file and walked out into the hall.

Booth raised his eyebrows at the speed of her departure from the room but followed her out. She was shrugging on her jacket as he caught up with her.

"Ok, so, I suppose if Angela has completed the reconstruction we can begin on ID'ing the victim tomorrow."

"Yes."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then." He reached around her to open the door and brushed against her arm.

She looked sharply down at where there had been contact and then back up into his eyes which given his angle of lean were mere inches away.

"Tomorrow," she replied, barely above a whisper. Booth held his breath.

And then she was gone.

He closed the door behind her, leaned his forehead against the wood and remembered:

Once, years before, he had drawn ground rules for them and they had worked for a long time.

He blew out a long breath.

He got the feeling this wasn't going to be the same.

x-x-x-x-x

**A/N:** So the 'Pact' is in place...where can our heroes possibly go from here? Duh duh duuuuuuh!

inserts further begging for reviews!


	6. Conversation

**A/N:** Thank you for your reviews and comments.

--

**One week later**

"Dude!"

Booth halted and reluctantly turned on the polished floor of the lab, slowly bringing Hodgins into his line of sight.

Today was not a good day to be called 'dude'. By anyone. He was busy, tired and frustrated, yeah frustrated on a number of levels. He was on his way to a meeting with Cullen which he was going to be late for because Bones was talking in code about their latest case.

He hated it when he had to get her to reverse and explain anything more than once, but the subtleties of how the skeleton had got wedged inside a mail box had escaped him. Probably had something to do with his concentration span bottoming out when she used words like flexibility, contortion and suppleness, even if they were talking about the skeleton of a 40 year old man.

He didn't respond to Hodgins, other than to raise one, "don't mess with me today," eyebrow.

At least Hodgins had the sense to look embarrassed by his use of the colloquial as he got up from his workstation and walked towards the side of the lab, beckoning Booth to follow.

"You got a minute?"

Booth sighed heavily and didn't follow. "Not really."

Hodgins turned towards the Agent and lowered his voice. "Look, man. I don't want to have this conversation any more than you do, but Angela has my balls in a sling. You know what that's like."

Booth didn't miss Hodgins' eyes darting towards the entrance to Brennan's office.

He held up an index finger, indicating with the gesture he was not feeling generous of time, spirit or anything else the man might want from him today.

"Come on, I'll make it short, sharp and painless. I'll do my duty, can say I spoke to you and we can both go home free men."

Against his better judgement, Booth followed him. "By walking with you to wherever it is you are going, Hodgins, I don't signal my agreement to actually converse with you."

Hodgins grinned over his shoulder. "Wouldn't presume otherwise."

--

Hodgins lead Booth to the bench that sat underneath the wings of the lab. He deposited himself on the bench and looked up at Booth, grinning. His smile faded as he saw Booth stood, straight, arms folded and definitely not sitting down. Hodgins found himself fighting the urge to look around for a window to check that black clouds hadn't rolled in and that they wouldn't be interrupted by thunder and lightning.

Awkwardly, he stood again and folded his own arms.

"Well, as you've probably worked out, Angela has asked me to, you know," he coughed, "check on you. Make sure you're ok."

He was surprised Booth didn't spin on his heel and storm out right then. Maybe he was distracted by whatever it was that had had him rushing out of Dr. Brennan's office minutes before. He only usually managed to get conversation out of Booth when he was distracted or wanted something. Or maybe their friendship had finally reached a level where the Agent didn't dismiss most of what he said out of hand.

He hoped it was the latter.

"Look, I know you got the very rough end of a very large stick for a few weeks, from Angela, Cam and Dr. Brennan. I mean, I saw the looks, the grief they were giving you. Don't envy you man."

Again, he was met with stony silence.

"Damn, you're good at this not talking thing."

No, apparently humor was not going to help either.

"I wanted to say, firstly, thanks. For, you know, taking some of the heat. I was getting my fair share at home, but you've been getting more than you deserve. I mean I deserved most of what I got..."

He trailed off as Booth shifted on the spot, almost looking like he was going to say something.

The moment passed, but Hodgins got the distinct impression both men had been contemplating their involvement, or lack thereof, in Zack's life in the past few months.

So Hodgins did something he considered risky, life risking risky.

"So you kissed her, huh?"

Booth took a large step forward and Hodgins jumped, both feet actually leaving the ground. He held up both hands.

"Ok, ok. Crap. Too much."

Silence of a very different type filled the air. Hodgins breathed deeply, feeling the fear for his life pass with each moment. He watched Booth's shoulders drop as he came to a decision.

Booth nodded.

"Good for you man." Hodgins said quietly. "Seriously, good for you."

Booth paced a few yards and then rested his shoulders against a large metal pillar rising from the floor.

"I'm guessing things haven't quite gone to plan."

Hodgins watched this man, whom he had come to think of as a friend, a comrade in arms, struggle to find words.

"We've reached an agreement," Booth muttered to the ceiling, resting his crown on the pillar. Apparently if he didn't make eye contact with Hodgins he was able to talk. "We have a 'Pact'." He unfolded his arms to hook his fingers round the word.

"Ok. What does this pact mean?"

He hadn't had the details on this from Angela. He'd known what Brennan was going to propose but Angela had been so frustrated with the rest of her conversation with Brennan, all she'd wanted to do was have quickie sex in the back of his VW Camper to work out said frustration.

It hadn't worked. But it had been great sex.

He would wait for Angela to talk to him, he knew her ways. But he didn't know Booth anywhere near as well. So he waited until the Agent spoke again.

"That that kiss will be the only thing we share, for a very long time." He drew the last words out so slowly that Hodgins didn't think he'd finish the sentence.

"Ha!" Hodgins barked, then sobered immediately seeing the look of danger pass across Booth's face.

"OK, sorry, that wasn't a laugh, laugh...it was a..." Booth's face didn't change and Hodgins gulped. "Seriously man, what's with the look of death?"

"I didn't want to talk about this in the first place."

"Me neither. But look, let's get this over and done with. You've given up harder things right? Poker, craps?"

"Not the same."

"Yeah, but hear me out. You could apply the whole 12 step programme thing to this too...Hey, maybe, maybe we could build something out of that experience into this one. How about a bet, on how long it takes 'til she puts out...?"

Booth took a step away from the wall.

"Ok, wrong choice of words." Hodgins mentally slapped himself and fumbled quickly for better phrasing. "I don't even know why I said that man. That's not her and it's not me. You have too much respect for Dr. Brennan to want her to put out...err I mean, give up...err I mean have whatever epiphany it is she is waiting for before you two can work things out. "

Booth took another step forward. This was not going how Hodgins had planned. Not at all.

"Booth." He held his palms up to the advancing Agent. "You helped me out with the whole Angela thing. I appreciate that. If you, you know, need anything."

Booth appeared to swallow his anger and nodded curtly, before turning to walk away.

"Hey," Hodgins said softly before Booth had moved more than a few feet. Time to bring out the big guns.

"She missed you, you know. I mean _really_ missed you." Hodgins took advantage of talking to Booth's back and spoke quickly. "When we thought you were dead, she missed you. No matter what she says. She was late coming in, and stayed later than ever before. She tried to give off this air of being alright, but she looked like she hadn't slept for more than five minutes, and had cried for a whole lot longer."

He watched Booth's shoulders tighten and knew he was treading another very fine line. Booth could swing one of two ways; either he'd slug him for betraying Brennan's privacy, or he'd slug him for making him feel like crap all over again about what he'd put her though, unintentionally or not. Hodgins continued.

"Just thought you should know. I don't think anyone has told you that yet, what with everything that has happened. I know you made up with Cam and Angie before the hearing, but you should know, she forgives you man. She forgave you the minute she punched you out."

"Yeah?" Booth said, still facing away. "What the hell would you know?"

Hodgins flinched. Booth was many things, but brutal and rude were not two of them. He had hit a nerve and knew to back off very, very quickly.

"Nothin'. Not saying anything."

"I've got to go."

"Ok."

Hodgins' shoulders slumped as Booth strode out of view. He wiped his forehead on the back of his sleeve, feeling as if he'd dodged a bullet. He liked the man, truly he did, but he couldn't read him at all. Hodgins knew he was probably lucky to get away with his life.

He gripped the sides of a pillar and drummed his fingers against it. Angie would be along for lunch soon. Something told him not to completely replay the conversation? He knew at some point she'd squeeze it out of him, but for now, he'd leave it, or Booth would also have Angela on his tail.

Yeah, he'd give the dude a break.

--

**A/N:** Bit of a short chap, but fear not, the next is a bigger one...please review - pretty please with sugar and a cherry on top!


	7. Sink or Swim

**A/N:** Thank you so much for your reviews. skellingtonlover, xHouseLoverx, Aching Bones, bea.tricks, Tom's gg and everyone - i am so gratful fo your thoughts and input! It is great to see whether or not I'm getting my thoughts across!

Bigger chapter as a reward!

--

Booth pushed the bag with his son's towel and clothes under the bleachers with his toe, turned to face the little boy and handed him a swimmer's float.

"There you go, bud, you're all set."

"Are you going to watch me, Daddy?"

"I'll be sat right here, Parker. I can see everything from here." The boy nodded and ran to the other side of the swimming pool where several other children were waiting.

Booth settled himself onto the bleachers. It was Saturday morning and Rebecca had arranged for Parker to take swimming lessons. He had insisted, vehemently, that he was quite capable of teaching Parker himself.

Rebecca had quietly suggested it would be good for Parker to learn the basics from a professional and when Booth had interrupted again, she had firmly told him that he could accompany Parker to the outdoor pool and watch his lessons from the side. He was then free to join Parker after his lesson to undo any bad habits the instructor had taught him.

Booth had seen Rebecca's decisive face before. He knew someone else who had one very similar. He also recognized that Rebecca had an ulterior motive and he understood, resignedly, that it wasn't a selfish reason.

He knew Parker had probably told her how tired and irritable he had been recently. On top of everything that had been before – the shooting, the faked death, the conclusion of the Gormogon investigation - he'd had to cancel the last two Saturdays because of new cases. And to top it all off on the previous Sunday night, one of his nights in the month to keep Parker 'til the week day and drop him off at school, he had fallen asleep late in the afternoon as they watched cartoons. He had woken to find his son gone. He'd run around the apartment shouting until he'd found Parker stood calmly in front of the bathroom mirror brushing his teeth, readying himself for bed.

A year ago, probably less, Rebecca would have reamed him out but she knew what was going on and why he was exhausted. Not that he'd told her, but the Gormogon case had been all over the TV and papers.

He hated that nickname even more now the press had got hold of it.

As the former lead investigating officer he'd been kept out of it, but the Jeffersonian had received a lot of bad press. A killer had hidden in their midst for months, aiding and abetting a serial murderer, who they just happened to be investigating. Evidence had been compromised and there were calls for a Judicial Review into how the Institute operated. Cam's job had been on the line and it wasn't clear yet if it was safe.

So he was grateful in many ways for Rebecca's understanding. He'd have been happier if he hadn't needed it, but their friendship had gotten better in the last year and so he was willing to take it. 

Parker hadn't minded a bit that his dad had spent the best part of the afternoon snoring. He also appeared more than happy to have whatever it was Booth would have cooked for him replaced by take out pizza eaten picnic style on the floor of his bedroom in a makeshift tent made of a broomstick and sheets, hastily erected in apology.

Booth hadn't forgiven himself, even though he knew why it had happened. He _was_ exhausted, frustrated and, for all intents and purposes, demoted.

Another agent had been put on the Gormogon case, and although they were letting Booth stay involved, he was pissed. He had fought the decision hard, knowing they really had no grounds, other than compassion, to remove him from the investigation. It grated that people thought he was compromized. He had worked damn hard to ensure he remained professional when it came to his involvement with the Jeffersonian.

He had never felt more job satisfaction, more achievement and had never has such a high solve rate than since he started working with Bones and their Squints.

Of course, there were all those other reasons he loved his job too, but they weren't so professional, and so he squashed them.

Or he had, until that night a couple of weeks ago.

"Daddy, daddy!"

He heard Parker's excited yell from across the other side of the pool. He looked up and waved, shading his eyes from the sunlight reflecting off the pool with his other hand. He watched his son grab his nose, turn his gaze on the instructor who counted down from five and then the eight kids all launched themselves into the pool at the same time.

He laughed as Parker surfaced, giggling and gasping for breath. Parker grabbed for the side of the pool, and then, one arm slung onto the concrete surface, turned and looked for his father. Booth gave him two thumbs up and smiled at the grin he received in return.

Sighing, Booth leaned back against the hard bleacher and folded his arms across his chest. He grimaced at the slight pull in his right shoulder. He touched it with his finger tip and felt the edge of the wound, which was 'healing nicely' but would be there as a reminder of those few weeks for a long time to come.

He shifted and pulled his sunglasses from his jeans pocket. Slipping them on he leaned his head back and let the sun warm his face. He stretched his long legs forward and spread his arms out along the wooden slat behind him.

He had been training his mind not to keep going over the pact he had made with Bones. There was no point arguing with the woman, no point pushing her, and certainly no point rushing her. He had his declaration, her promise they would be together. He'd made it three years and change with the unuttered status quo, he'd make it some more.

Of course, he also knew that last part was bullshit, but what was a guy to do?

He had rushed her, he had pushed her, all in a moment of weakness and he felt like crap about it. Everything she, they, had been through and he had to go and do the last thing he should have done.

"Dammit, such a jakass" he said, and lifted his head from where it rested on the warm wood. So much for not letting his mind keep going over it.

He wasn't a jackass; he was just in love and angry at the same time. Not usually the way love was meant to go, but he wasn't in love with the usual type of woman. And it wasn't like he was following his usual M.O. He didn't usually shove his tongue in women's mouths when they were at their most vulnerable.

He shouldn't have done it, not then, not after what they had just been through.

When they first entered Zack's hospital room he had barely been able to watch Brennan reason with the boy he had recently started to think of as a man. He had wanted to inflict serious physical harm on him when he started talking and trying to justify, in his usual logical style, something that was just beyond a usual human being's comprehension.

This wasn't the same. This was murder.

But then, as he watched Bones' heart break again, he folded. He decided, in the seconds it took for her to embrace Zack and cry into his hair, that he would fight for her friend.

That decision had been made harder as he didn't buy any of this 'Iraq changed him' bullshit Cam and Angela were throwing around, and more irritatingly, at him.

He didn't care; _He_ was the only one who knew what combat was like, none of them had ever been to war.

He shifted, and crossed his legs at the ankle, eyes finding Parker under a haze of splashing. He was pushing a float in from of him and kicking wildly. He could see the instructor hiding a laugh as he patiently explained from the water's edge how it was best to try to make as little splash as possible. He saw Parker nod and kick off the bottom again. The amount of spray was _negligibly_ less.

"I do care," he whispered to no one in particular.

He acknowledged weeks ago that he felt guilt over his lack of involvement with Zack. He had sidelined the kid early on, because he didn't have a clue how to interact with someone like that. And of course, he had come to realize that was an excuse. He had learned how to interact and understand Bones, and she and Zack had so much in common.

He understood her better than he ever would have considered possible when they first met. He knew Bones had seen things and that things had been done to her that she hadn't told him about. Perhaps she never would, but he knew there were things in his past, that no matter what, he would never share with anyone.

He also knew everything was changing and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

And yet so much of their lives seemed to be on repeat.

Maybe that was why he had kissed her. To break the damn cycle.

He could hear Parker's high pitched giggle amongst the other children's floating from across the pool. He closed his eyes and listened to the sound, and it calmed him.

"Better than any 12 step plan to put things in perspective, Hodgins."

He remembered; he had been back to see Zack just once. To ensure he would take the deal, plead guilty and make certain that that he knew the choice was in his hands. He also wasn't above telling Zack in no uncertain terms just what impact his actions were having on his friends.

However, Zack hadn't needed persuading and had been clear.

He would plead guilty, because he was.

He would co-operate, because he had to.

But, apparently he did not see the benefit in being secured at a facility that wasn't designed to treat those who had committed the kind of crimes he had. He was fully aware of the choices he had made and he now saw the error in his logic. He said that although he had acted on the best evidence he had at his disposal, he was adamant he would not be seeking a lighter sentence. Zack felt he deserved the punishment that would be meted out by the system and to do anything else would be a further disservice to those whose lives he had taken, and those still affected.

Booth had punched a hole in the wall of a featureless hospital corridor.

He had stormed out angrier than he could remember being in a very long time. He had gone straight to Sweets to confirm what they had spoken about in that same hallway. He had informed him in no uncertain terms that Sweets had to ensure Zack took Caroline's deal.

They had argued long and hard about the consequences Zack would face if he was found to be compos mentis. A man like him wouldn't survive in prison, not for a day.

The boy-shrink, following plenty of veiled and not so veiled threats, had finally agreed. Sweets spent hours at the hospital, talking him into taking the deal Caroline had wrought.

But in the end it turned out their effort was irrelevant.

Booth, again, shifted on the wood. He hadn't slept well the night before, or the night before that either. He hadn't slept well for weeks.

He thought back to the last conversation he had had with Sweets before the hearing and how it had ended on a different topic to usual. Booth, for once, actually wanted to bring something up.

"Oh...one more thing." Booth had turned back from the door and stalked right up to Sweets, placing a finger on the boy's chest and pushing hard. "If I ever hear you suggesting to Bones again that I am trying to seduce her, I will do things to you that the worst depraved mind that you've ever studied and think you understand would never dream up."

Sweets had turned white and nodded. No smart, sharp come back or observation this time.

Booth had left.

It made his blood boil to think anyone would expect him to treat her so disrespectfully; He would never have _seduced_ Bones and Sweets damn well knew it. She wasn't the kind of woman you schmoozed with wines and roses. She didn't appreciate doors being opened or insisting that you always paid the check. And she certainly wasn't the kind of woman you grabbed and stuck your tongue in her mouth.

"Dammit," he muttered.

She loved him, he loved her, that was out there in the open now and nothing was going to put that heap of worms back in the can until she learned whatever it was she needed to learn and ended this agreement. He knew it had to be her choice. And so here he was, two and a half weeks on: stymied, belligerent and horny. And none of those three were going to lend themselves to a great working environment for very much longer. He needed to get some of his ground back, redress the balance that had seen her setting all the guidelines instead of him.

A shadow fell across his face and he looked up. A woman was stood with her back to him. In a bikini. A very small bikini. Booth's eyes ran up her slim calves, across the scrap of pink material that barely covered her butt, and up her back.

He watched for a moment more and realized she was watching the same group of children Parker was in. Looking across the pool he saw another boy smile broadly, and he watched her wave back. She was stunning, and so far only view was from behind. She had long, blonde hair, and from this angle she reminded him strongly of that cut-throat bitch Tessa. And as the image of an ex flittered across his mind, something inside sparked. And something deeper inside snapped.

Booth grinned broadly, and laced his fingers together, raising them up and then behind his head. For the first time in weeks, his melancholy began to lift. Something had come to mind, something that he needed to think through a bit more carefully first.

Booth stood and walked past the woman, without so much as a sideways glance; the forty five minutes of lesson were almost up. He caught Parker's eye and indicated he was heading into the locker room to change.

He saw his own broad smile reflected back at him. The excited eyes of his son matched the blooming excitement in his chest as he planned a way to safely bring this Pact to an end.

--

**A/N:** A peek inside Booth's head for you all! Clickity click click ;)


	8. Foiled Again

**A/N:** Again, multitudes of thanks to those of you who take the time to review! Some of you have worked out where I am going with this...kudos! You may each have one hour with Seeley or Tempe, location and activity of your choosing! Two hours for those of you who got the Cut Throat Bitch Tessa/Amber reference!

EDIT - for americanisation !

--

"_So what makes you think __you__ can go without sex for an indefinite period of time?"_

"_Because you will be worth the wait, Bones."_

_She gulped audibly, then deliberately and slowly rolled her chair back a few inches. _

"_Ok."_

"_Ok." He straightened and nodded and turned. His fist was just reaching up to push the glass door when she spoke. _

"_There are always other ways to release tension and seek gratification other than sexual intercourse. I am allowed to practise those?"_

_He stopped, not being able to turn and face her. "Sure Bones. That's no problem at all."_

"_Ok."_

"_Ok."_

_And he left._

_--_

"Shit, shit, shit."

And now that was going to be all he thought about for the rest of the day. And night.

He slammed his keys down on the kitchen table and roughly pulled his tie loose.

Bones was going to go home alone and...do that thing...no doubt thinking of him while she did it, and he wasn't going to do a damn thing about it.

"This was not the plan!" he yelled at his empty apartment.

It didn't answer back.

He strode to the bedroom and yanked the closet doors open, catching his thumb in the lock.

"Shit," he muttered, staring at the bright trickle rolling down to the palm of his hand. He lifted his thumb to his mouth and sucked the wound. The bitter tang on his lips sparked a memory. She'd been wearing a deep red suit the day they kissed.

"No, dammit." In the past three weeks he had spent enough time allowing himself to relive that moment. And he couldn't do it anymore, not after today and not after what she said. Not knowing what she was probably doing this very moment.

No, now would be the time also to run over the million reasons why waiting was the right thing to do and why this pact, that, _damnshitdamn_, seemed like it was going to stick, was a sensible decision. But he couldn't stand to list again the very sensible and logical conditions they had placed on their progression, especially after he had considered himself cunning enough to talk her out of it. Taking away her ability to have casual sex to get through the self imposed dry spell was his master plan!

"You're a fool, Seeley."

He jerked his thumb out of his mouth and, not caring about the inevitable stain it would leave on the expensive fabric, tugged his jacket off. He reached to retrieve a hanger, but they were all tangled together and in his frustration he couldn't work one lose. Defeated by a piece of metal wire, he spun round, cursed loudly again and threw his jacket over the back of a chair.

What he could do is the other thing he had taken up as yet another habit. Crank down the temperature and have the coldest bath possible to blast the day away. In the three weeks since they shared a maddeningly passionate and indelible kiss, and more importantly voiced their feelings, he'd spent so much time in the shower he should have developed gills.

He toed his shoes off and pulled black socks down over his heels. He slung them on the bed and stared at them. Unsurprisingly, his ties and buckles had got even more garish. Conversely his socks had gone dark. He had to temper himself, he had to employ one reminder to survive not being able to touch her. As with his gambling survival techniques, namely a poker chip in his pocket at all times, his black socks were another. The daily ceremony of dressing allowed him a reminder of the boundaries he mustn't and wouldn't cross during the day. Removing the socks in the evening gave him another few seconds to congratulate himself for surviving.

Today he didn't feel much like self congratulation.

He paused to wiggle his toes on the cool, dark wood of his bedroom floor then slouched into the bathroom. Slipping the plug into the hole, he turned the ice cold water on full. Sitting on the rim of the tub he muttered to himself. "No idea _what _was I thinking, very smart woman, knows when she is being manipulated, fell into my own trap, dammit."

He flinched as cold spray hit the small of his back. He gripped the faucets and turned them off, finally removing his boxers and sucking in a deep breath before taking the plunge. The water stole his tightly held air as the Baltic waves lapped across his belly.

He looked down. Well, self gratification was out.

He managed less than a minute before jumping out, suitably chilled and desire quenched, if not thoroughly cleansed. Feeling marginally better about climbing into bed on his own, he towelled himself dry and yanked on a clean pair of boxers.

"You're fine," he muttered, not adding as long as he didn't think about Bones doing...that thing... chilled areas regardless, he would need to grab a long piece of toilet tissue and take that to bed too.

He punched his pillow into a manageable shape and lay back, grabbing the remote from his bedside table. For ten minutes he flicked channels, then surrendered and pressed the off button. And so he found himself resorting to the one thing he knew would take his mind completely off what his partner was doing, probably right at that moment.

He picked up the phone and dialled.

"Hey...Hey Rebecca. Yeah, I'm sorry to call again...I know I promised. I just...no, everything is ok. Is he still up?...I just thought he might be? ...No really everything is ok, I just wanted to...yeah...yeah?...Ok thanks...Hey Parker. Yeah sorry to stop you getting in bed, bud, I just thought you might like to tell your old Pops what you did at school today? Yeah really?...That sounds cool..."

--

She slammed the door to her fridge closed and uttered an expletive as she heard glass bottles rattle and fall over. Unusually, she didn't bother to reopen the fridge and set everything straight. Instead she grabbed a bottle opener from the granite work surface and flipped the top off a beer.

This was apparently going to be much more difficult than it should be, and she was not doing anything to ease their situation. She was angry with herself. He didn't want to allow them to seek gratification so she tormented him.

"Dammit, Booth," she muttered to her empty apartment.

This was ridiculous. Every night for the past three weeks she had come home, to no one and nothing, and that had never felt wrong before. Even with her newfound appreciation of family, with her father back in the picture and Russ reasonably close by, she still valued her space, her time. She was used to coming home with thoughts to organize for the next day, a chapter of a book to write or more often than not these past few years, a new experience to evaluate and decipher. But too much had been clouding her mind in the past months and that was one of the reasons for this damn Pact.

Before the Pact she had been well aware of her feelings for Booth. Partners, friends and then at some point yet to be determined, lovers. It shouldn't be this hard. The Pact was meant to see to that.

She hadn't said what she'd said to tease him, to make it harder for them both. "Even if really he did start it," she reasoned. She wanted to make it all mundane, take away what Booth called magic. She never used to believe in magic.

And then he had kissed her.

She sighed, accepting that she was never going to sleep without doing exactly what she threatened she was going to do, especially if she let her mind investigate that particular powerful memory again.

"No," she said out loud to solidify the sentiment. If she continued to compartmentalize, to rationalize, to look at things clinically, this time would go a lot quicker.

Throwing her head back, she drank the entire bottle of beer in one then pressed her hand to her lips to squash a not very quiet belch.

"Damn him." She could be out right now working out this frustration. There was that man at her gym, James she thought his name was. He was tall, with good posture and well defined musculature. He watches her and she knows he knows she knows that he is watching. She was sure if she wanted to she could work off some biological necessities with James.

Throwing the glass into the recycling bin, she strode to the bathroom, changed quickly into cotton pajama pants and a tank top, and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. Staring for a long time into the mirror, she eventually picked up a cotton pad and wiped the day's make up off. The routine calmed her, but as she roughly brushes her teeth, her thoughts wandered again.

"Damn him." She didn't want to satisfy her urges with anyone else but him. They cleared that up three weeks ago. "Ridiculous!"

She sat stiffly on the edge of her bed and thought of the 'gift' Angela gave her shortly after she told her about the Pact. Sliding open the drawer of her nightstand where she had hidden it, she looked down at it and promptly slammed the drawer shut. She threw back the covers and slid across the bed to the far side, away from the offending object. Another irrationality, but they were becoming more and more common in her life.

There was something she wanted to do, something she had done almost every night for months, until recent events caused her to put that act on hold. Sometimes she called him to discuss a case, sometimes to ask a question about a programme she had seen on her new TV but didn't understand. Sometimes she rang to yell at him and this felt like it should be one of those times. When you have a problem with someone, go right to the source, Angela had told her once.

She turned and looked towards the phone on her bedside table and reached her hand towards it.

"This probably won't help," she murmured as she picks up the handset and dialed.

Busy tone.

The ache that had been settled in her belly for weeks intensified.

Booth had tried to manipulate her today and she wasn't sure why. But at least she knew now what she had to do. Knew that she had to go and see someone who would be able to explain in terms she could understand, and support her logical conclusion in this matter.

Tomorrow she would go and see Zack.

--

**A/N: **Yes siree, emotional rollercoaster does the big loop da loop in the next chapter. Should be up in short order but as always reviews make me go faster!


	9. Recovery

**A/N: **Thanks again to those of you who take the time to review - I hope this one is ok for you...I apprecaite the concrit so much - and yes, I'm a Brit so occassionally I get the odd americanisation wrong (even though I have a terrific betas in Temper& bea who stop me from making a complete fool of myself!)

x-x-x-x

The room contained a bed, two chairs and little else. There was no television, no reading materials that she could see, not even a bedside table. Brennan stood the doorway and she saw Zack, sat in a high backed chair, angled to allow a view out of the high security hospital's window. When the daily bandage change was no longer required, and the physiotherapy could be managed by a prison facility's hospital wing, he would lose his window and his view.

He would be moved soon.

In the gun metal gray of the early evening sky, his face reflected in the glass, a tired and thinner version of the man she knew gazed somewhere in the distance. He was dressed in navy, a loose t-shirt and pants that resembled hospital scrubs. His hands, no longer heavily bandaged, but still entirely covered, rested on a pillow on his lap, no doubt raised to keep the blood flow from casing more pain.

It was when she saw the shackles trailing from a metal rail on the wall to his bare feet that the tears began. As she reached up to smear them away his gaze drifted, attention caught by her reflected movement. She lowered her hands and he shifted in his chair.

"Good evening, Dr. Brennan," he said, turning awkwardly to look at her.

"Hello, Zack."

"I wasn't expecting any visitors and you are here outside of the permitted visiting hours."

"Caroline organized special access for me, for tonight only," she clarified.

"Ms. Julian has been very kind to me. Please sit." He nodded and tilted his head towards a plastic chair on the far side of the bed.

Brennan smiled. Weeks ago she wouldn't have believed his words about the prosecutor, and then Caroline had done her a favour so she knew it to be true now. She entered his room, drew the chair towards the window, angled it towards him and sat.

"How is your recovery progressing?" she began stiffly.

"I am regaining increasing levels of movement in my right hand." He raised it slightly, then replaced it gingerly on the pillow. "However, my left hand is not responding to physiotherapy as my Doctors would like."

"And the pain?" Her questions were dry and clinical as she struggled to hide her sadness.

"The pain is less. I am able to function to an acceptable level without resorting to opiates."

"That's good, Zack."

He nodded. She paused, not being able to adequately frame her next question through the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Is there something specific you wanted to speak with me about, Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes, Zack. There is. I need some advice."

"I am not used to being asked for advice."

"I know Zack, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable. But there has been," she paused and stretched for the words, "a fundamental change in my life. I would like to talk to you about it."

He nodded, so she continued. "I have found myself able to manipulate situations more effectively than I have in the past. In one instance, I have managed the justice system to my advantage. I identified and used a loophole to directly benefit and enrich my life."

"You are describing how you engineered a situation in your father's trial to your advantage."

Brennan felt the tension in her stomach ease slightly. He was still Zack, intelligent, quick and concise.

"Yes. I maneuvered the facts to benefit me."

"I disagree. Although there may have been non-scientific reasons for reassessing the evidence, you theorized a plausible occurrence based on the facts available."

"Do you believe it was plausible, Zack?" She paused, not expecting him to take more than a second to make the connection.

"Are you comparing your situation to mine, Dr. Brennan?"

She added more information before addressing his question. "I forced Agent Booth into positing a scenario that he did not consider possible. The facts may have been able to support that I had opportunity, but I know that he considered it impossible for me to have committed the murder. Because of _who_ I am."

"And you believe you overlooked my involvement for similar reasons."

"I didn't overlook it; I never considered it at all."

As silence fell, Brennan recognized that she had been leading the conversation down a route she could not let continue. Zack would not say anything that could compromise himself or her ability to testify. She allowed a few moments and continued.

"The resolution of this case," the only description she would allow herself, "has led me to believe my focus and objectivity have been compromized.

"I find myself in a position where I can choose to continue pursuing a gratifying and successful career based on the continuation of a formula that works and many lessons I have learned in recent years. Or I can pursue another avenue that I believe could compromise my ability to operate to my full capacity."

"You have made the same mistake I did. You have based your logic on a false assumption Dr. Brennan."

"Explain," she said boldly, in direct opposition to the uncertainty she felt in pursuing a response. This was what she had come to hear.

"If I interpret your scenarios correctly, you believe pursuing a romantic relationship with Agent Booth will compromise your ability to achieve your goals."

Brennan's eyes grew wide, not surprised by Zack's ability to make the connection, but his willingness to discuss it. Again tears sprang to her eyes as she discovered more changes in him.

"I...I appear to no longer be able to compartmentalize to the same extent I was before."

"I have observed your partnership with Agent Booth and noted how it has changed you both. In addition, those changes have also had a noticeable impact on those around you."

Brennan swallowed hard, but nodded for him to continue.

"It appears that Agent Booth has become an integral part of your life. You function at a lower level of success and capability when the other is not available. Angela spent a great deal of time describing to me your behaviour when I was in Iraq..."

"She did?" The exclamation escaped unbidden.

Zack nodded. "Yes, and during the two weeks when we thought Agent Booth had been killed, I noticed substantial alterations in your behaviour."

Brennan felt the tears begin to slip down her cheeks. She gripped her hands together tightly and sat straighter in her chair. Zack looked down at his hands, then slowly, back to her.

"I have observed Angela and Hodgins become adept at understanding each other, with no requirement to converse. They appear to convey information through touch and eye contact. Angela and Hodgins live and work together and their working relationship has benefitted from their…" he paused to find a word, "involvement.

"I have seen evidence of the same in your and Agent Booth, and to a higher degree."

Brennan stared wide eyed at Zack, every notion confirmed.

She whispered, tears clogging her throat. "I concur with your assessment. However I remain concerned that I may not have adequate evidence at my disposal to make an informed decision."

"Dr. Brennan. I do not believe that to be true. I believe you have sufficient evidence to make a rational decision about this matter and have had for a substantial length of time."

Stunned, Brennan found herself unnerved by this direct and observant Zack. He was freely commenting on the personal lives and interactions of his friends without hesitation, without clamoring to retract a statement he felt had been inappropriate. She estimated, her heart heavy in her chest, that the threat of death left little time for candour.

"I made more than one fundamental error in my assessment of helping The Master." There was no inflection when Zack said the name. No reverence, no hesitation. It was offered as a name of a suspect or a victim had been for years. "I assumed, incorrectly, that I had gathered enough evidence as to warrant no further inquiry and, that my hypothesis had been supported enough to be determined as theory though that evidence. Although I understood that I could never have all the facts at my disposal to make a sound decision, I thought I had foreseen any negating matters that could arise.

"I was wrong."

Tears fell unchecked down Brennan's face and she reached out to touch him, finding that because of his injuries she had nowhere to make the contact that would allow her to hold and comfort her friend. Frustrated, she shifted her chair closer and placed her hands on his forearms.

Zack's eyes closed at the contact and for the second time Brennan watched her beloved friend cry.

He spoke through his tears, renewed determination in his voice. "Unlike what happened to me..." He stopped and started again. "I believe there is substantial evidence to support my theory that a relationship between Agent Booth and yourself is not only an inevitable step, but that many elements accepted to be part of a romantic relationship are already in place. I can see no benefit in delaying the consummation any longer."

Brennan blushed deeply at Zack's literal interpretation, but maintained her grip on him.

"Dr. Brennan, unlike me, you have made the wise decision to seek the advice of someone who can aid you in the determination you need to make.

She brushed tears from his face with the pad of her thumb. Blue eyes sought blue.

"And perhaps there is one piece of evidence that I can clarify for you Dr. Brennan."

She nodded at him to continue.

"It will make you happy. And I very much would like to see you happy again."

x-x-x-x-x

**A/N: **We're nearly there guys, only two chapters left...please review!


	10. Broken

**A/N: **Overpraise is worse than no praise, but I love all of you who take the time to click that little button. I am getting around to responses to all! I am so chuffed with the response to my "Zack Chap", which given the heightened level of emotion surrounding this dearly beloved character, was a big risk for me. I have to thank bea.tricks (again - thanks hun) - for her input on Zack and steering me right where I was taking him down a path our Zackeroonie would never go.

Back to the story...

x-x-x-x-x

Daylight was almost gone and what little still shone was blocked by the thin slats of his office blinds. A cup of coffee sat cold next to the screen which had switched to sleep ages before. Booth sifted through the index cards he had pulled from his suit pocket and his head ached as he tried to organize them into some sort of order so he could begin writing his report.

His cell buzzed once, the vibration shifting it half an inch across the pile of paperwork that covered most of his desk. He glanced at the screen, sighed and contemplated ignoring it for a moment before answering it anyway.

"Bones." His greeting was flat.

"Booth. Can we meet?"

The last time she had asked him that, exactly like that, things hadn't gone too well from his point of view. "Tonight? Bones, I'm pretty beat."

"It's important."

He sighed again and didn't respond. The day had not started well given his state of mind when he had dragged himself into the office after a night wholly lacking in sleep. He'd spent his whole day neck deep in paperwork with four times the usual amount of emails to blast through and every time he'd tried to start sorting these cards, some newbie agent had banged on his door with some inane query. Being a veteran Agent had its downsides. It had absolutely been one of those days.

"Booth?" she pressed on. "I went to see Zack today."

He blinked once and agreed to meet her.

x-x-x-x

He'd stayed in his office for an hour with a renewed sense of purpose. He had sorted his cards, tidied his desk and damn near loaded the dishwasher in the mess in an attempt to delay his arrival. He _had _loaded the one at home when he had gone to change.

He was struggling with being there for her, but if one event in her life was going to require his presence, seeing Zack was it. But here he was so he raised his hand and knocked on the door of her apartment.

He shoved his hands in his pants pockets, then pulled them out and folded them across his chest. He shook his head and moved again, placing one hand against the door jam.

"C'mon, Bones."

Finally he settled for stepping back a foot and jamming his hands into his jacket pockets just as the door opened quietly. She looked fresh with barely damp hair and he was surprised to notice, no make-up. She was, without doubt, as beautiful as he had ever seen her, but the informality in her appearance was unusual. His mouth dried but he managed a smile.

"Please come in."

"Thanks." He moved past her into her home that he knew as well as his own, save one or two rooms.

"Thanks for coming."

"Hey, no problem." He stood, feeling more awkward in her presence than he had ever done. There was something about knowing where she had been that unnerved him.

She walked past him towards her kitchen and as she passed he caught her scent, like warm linen and daisies. His stomach churned, halfway between excitement and panic; he forced himself to swallow.

"Would you like something to drink?"

He watched her move around her kitchen and saw a wet tendril hung along the nape of her neck from a loose ponytail. He itched to curl it round his fingers so he accepted her offer, plainly so he would have something to do with his hands.

She flipped the tops off two bottles of beer and handed him one. Another surprise, she usually drank wine. She smiled up at him, and leaned back against her counter top and over the rim of his own bottle, he watched her raise hers and press it to her lips. She looked calm and relaxed. Booth had been sure he'd find her in some state of distress, unable to articulate whatever trauma her visit to Zack had wrought on her. His sense of unease grew; he decided time to kick start the conversation.

"So..."

"I saw Zack this evening and we spoke at length. He was able to help me to think again about a number of things."

Booth bit back a number of knee jerk responses. The thought of Zack giving Brennan any kind of advice troubled him but he indicated with a wave of his bottle that she should continue. He moved to a stool by her breakfast bar, feeling the need to sit.

She drummed her fingers against the side of the bottle and appeared to be thinking carefully about whatever it was she had prepared to say. His unease started to turn into impatience.

"Just spit it out Bones."

And then Booth couldn't help but laugh when she looked quizzically at him, then at her beer bottle. He rolled his eyes at her, smiling crookedly as she once again, caught on to his actual meaning. She took the stool next to him and placed her bottle heavily on the granite surface.

"Zack is doing well, Booth. Much better than I had expected him to."

"That's good news. What did you speak to him about?" Booth nodded solemnly but pressed on. He was glad to hear that news, for her sake as well as Zack's, but he wasn't going to let her draw this out. He had promised to make this easy, but if she kept this up he was going to say or do something he would regret. Again.

"We spoke about his recovery, he is regaining good use of one of his hands."

"Bones." He tried very hard to keep his growing frustration out of his voice.

She paused and he reluctantly allowed her a moment to gather her thoughts.

"He reminded me that a logical approach to an event is not necessarily most beneficial to all parties. "

He blew out a breath. "Bones, for once, please, talk English."

She looked up apparently startled at his sharp words and he fought off his habitual reaction to ease to her discomfort. Instead he let the silence stretch until she spoke again.

"I was told, you will remember, that I am incapable of leading a purposeless life. I interpreted that to mean I need direction and guidance, a task to allow me to feel fulfilled. I have always found that in my work, in my writing and as I explained to you, the risk of losing that purpose was too great for me. I was also told that some purposelessness was necessary for a fulfilling life. I didn't accept that at the time and I don't now. I must have purpose in my life. " She paused.

"It has taken the events of the last weeks to make it clear to me just how much you have contributed to who I am. When I believed you dead, I rejected everything I had learned in the past three years. Booth, I understand why I did that, and I don't like it."

Booth frowned and she explained further. "I've been alone my whole life. It was all I knew."

Booth sighed deeply and sadly, and placed his glass bottle on the surface and laid his hand flat next to it, but she spoke quickly.

"Booth, you never thought this Pact would work did you?"

He looked at her, and decided to be honest. "I know I didn't want it to, and I know I tried to figure out a way to break it."

"I know. You tried to manipulate me with the celibacy proposal. "

Even after years of her direct honesty, it always caught him off guard but he recovered quickly. "I did. Do you understand why?"

"I think so."

"The whole thing," he waved his hand between them, "trying to get you to agree not to see other people. I thought, you might, well, I thought you might decide that...

She cut him off, shaking her head. "You agreed to the Pact, hoping it wouldn't work."

"Can you blame me?" He felt no embarrassment at his admission.

"No," she said quietly.

"Bones, why don't you believe us when we tell you you're not alone anymore?"

She glanced down at her mother's ring on her finger and touched it with her finger tip. "I do believe you, Booth. I do now."

Booth breathed in deeply realising that finally, they were getting to the point. He watched her fidget with the piece of simple jewellery and resisted reaching out to her to still her hand. "So?"

"Zack told me he wanted me to be happy."

"We all want that for you." This time he did reach out, briefly rubbing his thumb over her knuckle. He adored the velvet of her cool skin and allowed himself a moment of contact before he began to withdraw but her other hand moved quickly and clasped his hand to hers. He found her eyes still shining, this time with unshed tears, but his heart began to lighten at the brightness he saw in their blue depths.

"You are part of my purpose."

He barely heard her whisper, but the faint hope that had been building inside him exploded like fireworks. She leaned toward him and whispered against his ear.

"You make me happy."

He laid his hand on the side of her face and held gently to him, her warm cheek against his.

"That's good, Bones. That is a good thing. This Pact," and despite the tender moment he found himself almost spitting the word out, "wasn't ever going to work because we're in love. And that overcomes logic every time."

"It shouldn't." She leaned back, able to look at him again and he finally saw their future in her eyes. "But it does."

"But it does," he repeated and pulled her to stand with him. He held his breath and prayed, then spoke. "So, are you ready to get started with this thing?"

She smiled broadly and he grinned back. There was no uncertainty, no hesitation, nothing standing in their way apart from her answer to his question.

"Absolutely." She reached out, grabbed his belt buckle and dragged his hips toward hers.

He groaned hoarsely and lifted his hand to her face. "Temperance."

"No. Don't call me that."

"What do you mean?" He leaned down as she lifted her face to his.

"Call me Bones."

"Why?" he whispered against her lips.

"Because I like it," she murmured.

"Really?" His other hand slipped round her waist and pulled her body flush to his.

She nodded, slipped her hand underneath his jacket and gripped the thin fabric of his t shirt.

"So, no more pacts?"

She shook her head, barely, not breaking contact.

"No more rules."

Again, she motioned no as she smoothed her palms under his T shirt onto the heated skin of his back.

"Don't think for a minute I'm going to try to talk you out of _this_ decision."

"Booth."

"Bones."

"Please, no more waiting."

"No more waiting," he agreed, and crushed his lips to hers.

x-x-x-x-x

_**A/N:** If you are angry with me for breaking here, blame bea.tricks...the teasiest-tease of all fanfic writers - she said it was the right thing to do ;) - well sort of - but never fear - the next chap will be up soon...and all the sooner for a little click click of that review button!_


	11. Finished

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed throughout the evolution of this story. Specific thanks to skellingtonlove, labsquint, Tom's gg, Aching Bones, space77, xHouseLoverx, That Old Black Magic, celtic33 - you all offer the kinds of reviews that puch this woman into being a better writer...thank you. And a last bit mention to TemperTemper and bea.tricks for encouragement, beta, insight and all round lovliness. I couldn't have got through this without you! Hopefully this conclusion will satisfy you all!

I have had some feedback saying don't worry about the "love making" the story ended well without it. ITA - I hope this suits those who needed more, but satisfies those who didn't.

--

Booth sighed into her mouth as her tongue rose to meet his and he cupped her face with his hands, gently rubbing his thumbs across her delicate cheek bones. He suppressed a shiver as he felt her fingernails dig into the small of his back, drawing the cotton shirt up until she made contact with skin. Then the shiver escaped unhindered.

Unwilling to break their kiss, he released her face and gripped her hips, lifting her suddenly but effortlessly onto the counter. Immediately she wrapped her slim calves around him and hooked her ankles around his back, pulling him tightly between her legs. He slid his hands across the fabric of her cotton blouse and covered her hands with his where they rested at his collar.

"Off," he growled and she purposefully pushed the thick fabric over his shoulders and down his arms onto the floor.

She squeezed his hands and then drew her fingertips excruciatingly slowly along the back of them, then changed direction to flutter them across the sensitive skin inside his wrists and along the softness of his forearms. He slid his cheek along hers until he was able to take her earlobe between his teeth. As he bit gently down, she paused with the pads of her thumbs to the inside of his elbows. He felt a shudder run through her in response and she grasped his biceps. Throughout her ministrations he found himself torn between soaking in the sensations and throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to the bedroom.

The reactions her caresses were eliciting won out and he shut his eyes, delighting in the contact. As she slipped her hands under the sleeves of his shirt and gripped his shoulders he hoarsely made a suggestion.

"Why don't we lose the clothes?"

She nodded and he gripped the hem of her white shirt; In what could only have been seconds, her shirt was flying across the room closely followed by his. Instantly his hands were back on her, firmly smoothing a path over her hips and waist, up her back to her neck, creating a delicious heat. He dropped his head to slide his tongue down her long neck and suckled her milky skin.

"Booth." Only his name on her lips could distract him at that moment; he drew back and locked his gaze on her.

"Bones." He smiled, using the name that belonged to them, the corner of his lip curling as he saw her flushed cheeks and dilated pupils.

Her mouth worked silently, trying to articulate some direction or request and he grinned wider, delighted that he could make her speechless. Returning to his apparently successful mission, he lowered his lips once more to her silken shoulder and sucked her increasingly moist skin, pausing to curl his tongue into the hollow where collar bones met.

"Yes, more," she pleaded, gripping his shoulders rightly, holding him against her. He could feel her cheek pressed against his hair and her chest rising and falling deeply as her breathing turned into panting. Her hands seemed to have found purpose, her palms pressing solidly across his shoulders and upper arms, fingernails teasing his hot skin.

Unable to resist her demands, he lowered his lips still further, gently dipping his tongue inside the cotton of her simple white bra. Cupping her breasts, his thumbs lightly skimming over her taut nipples through the material. She moaned as he dragged his teeth across the cotton, and as she spoke his name again he snapped out of the fog of passion that had been claiming him.

"God, Booth."

He knew where he needed and wanted her to be. He raised his lips to hers, forcefully claiming her, biting her lower lip, aiming to distract her from the next move he planned. Quickly he slipped his hands under her buttock and lifted her again.

She broke their kiss and laughed throatily, tightening her thighs around his waist. Taking her lack of brutal assault as assent to him carrying her, Booth shifted her higher and removed them hastily from the kitchen. She twisted in his arms trying to allow him to see where he was going and they giggled their way to her bedroom.

Pausing at the threshold to her room he shifted her again as he raised a foot and pushed the heavy wooden door slowly open. She slipped from his arms, her body causing a delicious friction as it crushed against his.

As her bare feet silently hit the floor she took his hands and drew him into her unfamiliar room; he followed, ready to stake a permanent claim on her body and heart.

x-x-x-x-x

Brennan's knees bumped against the bed and she let gravity take her down, his eyes were nowhere but on her face, hers nowhere but on his. She sat and then reclined, laying flat, her fingers tugging Booth's buckle pulled him with her. He raised his body over hers and she shivered as he drew his palms along her flanks. Involuntarily she found herself raising her chest toward him, inviting him to continue the ministrations he had been lavishing on her body. He paused, hovering above her.

"Booth?" She whispered, dropping her body flat to the bed. A moment of uncertainty began to invade her as he ceased his exploration of her body.

"Just looking," he responded, his gaze roving over her face again and again. She watched as the heat in his eyes faded slightly to be replaced with a measure of tenderness that soothed her worry beyond words. The urgent ache to be touched diminished as she saw him memorising the moment.

"Just looking at what?" She whispered again, an unbidden grin playing at the corner of her mouth.

He raised an eyebrow and extended his cockiest charm smile. She laughed and turned her head away, blushing at his attention.

"Bones?" His voice lowered and the atmosphere changed. He took her chin between his finger and thumb and turned her to face him. "No more waiting." He murmured, softly reminding him of their vow.

She nodded as he lowered his lips to hers, opening her mouth and accepting him in. She curled a leg around his jean clad calf, and raised her knee against his butt, pulling him onto her. Feeling the insistent nudge of his erection in her hip she felt a whimper escape her throat, and she lifted her hips, pressing gently against him.

Even in the darkness of her room, she saw the colour of his eyes change. The tender moment passed, fluently replaced with hunger as he growled into her mouth and forced her hard into the bed.

"Shit, Bones." The weight of his body on hers was perfect, the touch of his hands roaming every inch of skin, divine but she wanted more. Placing her hands on the front of his shoulders she pushed him away. He instantly grasped her intent and stood, unbuckling his belt and swiftly removing his jeans. He bent to untie his laces and push off his shoes and socks.

With another partner, in another time and place she might have wanted some scraps of clothing to remain in place, to elongate the experience of disrobing her lover. But now, with him she lifted her hips to slip her pants and underwear off, quickly unclasped her bra and slipping it from her body onto the floor. She saw his his head move and his eyes dart to it as it appeared in his line of sight, still bent at the waist as he was. She laid back on the bed and raised her arms above her head, laying herself open for him.

If she had come close to believing in magic the first time he kissed her, there was no doubt left in her mind now that certain things in life would remain inexplicable to her. The myriad of emotions that passed across his face as he react to her body caused a jolt to run through hers unlike anything she had ever experienced.

He whispered just one word as he knelt on the bed above her.

"Beautiful."

Her eyes fluttered shut as his soft lips danced downwards across the flat of her belly, and her fingers tangled in his hair as she held him against her.

"So good." Her cry escaped as he reached his goal and she heard him inhale deeply.

x-x-x-x-x

He hardened more sharply than he imagined possible as the heated musk of her arousal merged with her scent that had intoxicated him for years. Linen, daisies and essence of Bones.

Reality eclipsed every fantasy he had ever had of her, surpassing them all. The steadiness in his movements betrayed the trembling he felt infusing every muscle, the same trembling mirrored in the movement of her flesh under his.

Finally granted admission to her nakedness he reaped his reward. His fingers, his tongue moved along the inside of her butter-soft thighs, encouraged by clawing fingernails and whimpers and whispers telling him exactly where he needed to be.

Mirroring the rapid movement of his lips down to her centre, he hastened the journey of his hand towards her nipples, simultaneously reaching with both glorious destinations.

She keened wildly into the darkness of the room and arched into his hands as he pinched a hard nub and gently lapped at her sensitive folds. The taste of her was exquisite, the quivering of her flesh under his mesmerising.

He raised his eyes to see her thrashing her head from side to side, her auburn hair spilling across white pillows.

His heart seized at the sight. Twice now she had told him they had waited too long and as her writhing became more frantic he found he shouldn't need to be told to do anything twice.

She was wet and hot for him, for them, opening her body for his, her heart inviting him further inside.

He released her, desperately ignoring her disappointed cry, and swiftly moved up her body. Booth gripped her hip and lifted it, whereupon she slung her leg over his, demonstrating a wordless understanding of his intentions. She traced her hands across his chest and abdomen, steadily down the length of his torso to his strong hips until she gripped her prize tightly. He groaned and fought the urge to end it all on her hot, pale skin.

Managing, he didn't know how, to stay his arrival, he glanced down to watch her guide him toward her slick entrance.

Raising his lust heavy eyes her face he found her staring back. Their gaze locked as they realised there was no more waiting, no more hiding; it took all his control, but little effort, to slip inside and bury himself within her.

x-x-x-x

And with the final anchoring of their bodies at their hips, their hands and lips hastened to gather and taste as much of the other as possible. They rocked into each other, turning and rolling across the bed, his body driving her down, then hers floating above his as his powerful arms raised her over and over. Her hair became damp against her forehead and his hips ached deliciously from the rhythmic motion as he thrust into her again and again.

It wasn't clear who started to come first. Maybe it was her as his thumb flicked across her clit. Maybe it was him as she massaged him from within. But their cries and declarations of love mingled in the searing heat of her room as their bodies finally united as their hearts and minds had so long before.

And as the rhythm began again, they could barely discern whose was the first body to fall into climax the second and the third time. Over and over their bodies joined, parted, twisted and curved. He lowered his lips to her aching centre and she bucked into his mouth. She draped her legs over his shoulder as he rejoiced in the tightness of her.

It was hours later, when their sated, aching bodies finally stilled, wrapped round each other in tangled and twisted sheets, that a realisation broke through their passion.

There would be no more lonely dawns, no more solitary slumber.

When daylight invaded their world, their pact was broken and a new one forged.

--

**A/N:** And relax...reviews still craved even at the end of this rockin' rollercoaster! I totally admit to "love makin'" not being something I am utterly comfortable with writing - I hope this met your expectations and the "fade to gray" toward the end just lets your imaginatoin run wild.

A nod to bea for the 'butter soft' descriptor (I totally stole from her - sorry chuck) and Booth's arms galore for Tempertemper...a weakness we both seem to share!


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